Iran, in restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program (JCPOA), needs guarantees of no sanctions in the event of a change in US leadership, said Iranian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Kazem Jalali.
"What we are saying to the West is: those sanctions that you have imposed, of course, are very harsh, they expose our people to oppression. You have to lift them... If we move toward lifting the sanctions, then these negotiations will be productive and fruitful," Jalali told a press conference at the Russia Today news agency.
He noted that "the issue of guarantees for the people of Iran is very important."
"We have a proverb - once you’ve been bitten by a snake, you’re afraid even of a piece of rope. We have a bitter experience about the Western approach on the JCPOA: the Americans had a change of government, and they broke their JCPOA obligations. So the people of Iran have a right to know about future assurances so that sanctions are not returned and we can have peaceful nuclear activities," the ambassador said.
The eighth round of talks on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program (JCPOA) resumed in Vienna on Tuesday, but there has not yet been a formal meeting of the joint commission.
Negotiations to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program and lift Washington's sanctions with Tehran are currently underway in Vienna. On December 27, the eighth round started. Back in December, during the seventh round, the sides reached agreement on two draft agreements, in which the European side included Iran's positions. According to Iranian representative Bagheri Kiani, the talks are going well, but US State Department spokesman Ned Price rated the progress in Vienna as modest, urging Tehran to take the issue seriously.
In 2015, Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the US, France and Iran struck a nuclear deal, the JCPOA, which involved lifting sanctions in exchange for limiting Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, then-US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the JCPOA and reinstate sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a phased reduction of its commitments under the agreement, abandoning restrictions on nuclear research, centrifuges, and uranium enrichment levels.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from RIA Novosti