Iran not to sacrifice its interests for US return to JCPOA

Referring to US officials' recent remarks over the start of renegotiation to revive the JCPOA, the member of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Abolfazl Amouei said, "The talks in Vienna between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P4+1 group were aimed at determining the conditions under which the United States would return to the JCPOA agreement."

"The fact is that the Americans have not behaved appropriately in taking the fundamental steps to return to their commitments in the UN Security Council. After six rounds of talks, they continued to try to maintain key parts of the sanctions, including the arms embargo on Iran. They also plan to keep about 500 Iranians on the sanctions list, which is why the talks failed to reach any result," he added.

The MP went on to say, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is not willing to sacrifice its national interests for the return of the United States to the JCPOA. Negotiations were suspended for these reasons until a new government came to power in Iran." 

Speaking about the policy of the 13th administration regarding the nuclear negotiations, Amouei said, "The policy of the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as stated by the President and the Foreign Minister in various sessions of the Parliament, is that Tehran has not escaped and is not escaping from the negotiating table. But the fundamental issue of the Islamic Republic is not negotiation, and we are not willing to sign an agreement until Iran's interests are secured."

"What has prevented the agreement is the extravagant approach of the United States, and in this context, as long as this extravagant approach is maintained and supported by the Europeans, the Islamic Republic does not agree with the return of the United States to the previous agreement," he added.

"They also plan to keep about 500 Iranians on the sanctions list, which is why the talks failed to reach any result," he added.The MP went on to say, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is not willing to sacrifice its national interests for the return of the United States to the JCPOA""Iran is exploring new approaches to negotiations."

Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission member continued, "The behavior of the Americans in recent years has not been favorable at all, and they are not willing to make fundamental and difficult decisions, and unfortunately, they do not respect the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran in any way. The remarks exchanged during the US President's meeting with the Zionist Prime Minister were completely negative and did not respect the Islamic Republic."

Emphasizing that Iran does not negotiate under any pressure and threat, Amouei said, "The comments made during the recent meeting between the senior US presidents and the Zionist regime were negative and had a negative impact on the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"The main issue is that the Americans must recognize the rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, otherwise we will not allow a return to the nuclear deal," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday said that the new administration believes in negotiations that have tangible achievements in the interests of the Iranian people, adding that Iran is not seeking to escape the negotiating table.

Iran has held six rounds of talks with JCPOA participants known as the P4+1 with the aim of salvaging the JCPOA in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Tehran has insisted that it would resume full compliance with the deal after the full removal of the sanctions that the previous US administration under Trump illegally imposed on Tehran after its unilateral and illegitimate withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018.

It has already stressed that it would leave the Vienna talks if they take too long and if its legitimate demands as per the JCPOA are not met. Anyway, the other parties, especially the Europeans seem to be killing time while the new US administration is still sticking to the Trump-era sanctions.

The current US administration has not yet fulfilled the promises Joe Biden made during his presidential elections campaigns to undo Trump's actions and return to the deal.

In the meantime, Tehran has also stressed that the Biden administration's return to the agreement without lifting the sanctions is not important at all.

ZZ/FNA14000610000097