Removal of sanctions key to reach deal: Tehran’s top negotiator
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s logic in negotiating with Western powers is for all sanctions to be removed, Tehran’s chief negotiator said on Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview with Iranian state media, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with Western powers, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that negotiation is a process, and the process is still ongoing.
“The obstacles that exist in the way of the economic benefit of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be completely removed,” Bagheri said regarding Iran’s approach in the negotiation process.
Iran’s violent crackdown on the protests that engulfed the country following the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in police custody in September led to a barrage of condemnations and sanctions from the international community, also putting on pause the talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA was signed between Britain, France, China, Germany, Russia, Iran, and the US in 2015, offering Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to ensure it does not enrich enough uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.
Former US president Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018, believing it was too lenient on Iran.
Sporadic talks, mediated by the European Union, have been held between Iran and the US to restore the JCPOA since April 2021.
Emphasizing Tehran’s ideal solution, Bagheri said that “the removal of sanctions is our main goal in the negotiations, and the framework of negotiations with the western parties continues on this basis.”
The statement from Bagheri comes after last month, Iran’s foreign minister warned that while Iran is currently open to resume negotiations and reach a deal with the US, it is not certain if that stance will remain if the west does not deal “realistically” with the topic.
The Iranian foreign minister added that they do not have their hands tied, warning that if the west continue their “hypocritical and interventionist” behavior, then Tehran would move in a different direction.
However, the US has previously said that resuming negotiations is not on their plate currently.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told Rudaw in October that reviving the nuclear deal was not Washington’s focus at the moment, stressing that the priority was ensuring the Iranian people’s right to protest and “holding the regime accountable.”
In an exclusive interview with Iranian state media, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with Western powers, Ali Bagheri Kani, said that negotiation is a process, and the process is still ongoing.
“The obstacles that exist in the way of the economic benefit of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be completely removed,” Bagheri said regarding Iran’s approach in the negotiation process.
Iran’s violent crackdown on the protests that engulfed the country following the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in police custody in September led to a barrage of condemnations and sanctions from the international community, also putting on pause the talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA was signed between Britain, France, China, Germany, Russia, Iran, and the US in 2015, offering Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to ensure it does not enrich enough uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.
Former US president Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018, believing it was too lenient on Iran.
Sporadic talks, mediated by the European Union, have been held between Iran and the US to restore the JCPOA since April 2021.
Emphasizing Tehran’s ideal solution, Bagheri said that “the removal of sanctions is our main goal in the negotiations, and the framework of negotiations with the western parties continues on this basis.”
The statement from Bagheri comes after last month, Iran’s foreign minister warned that while Iran is currently open to resume negotiations and reach a deal with the US, it is not certain if that stance will remain if the west does not deal “realistically” with the topic.
The Iranian foreign minister added that they do not have their hands tied, warning that if the west continue their “hypocritical and interventionist” behavior, then Tehran would move in a different direction.
However, the US has previously said that resuming negotiations is not on their plate currently.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told Rudaw in October that reviving the nuclear deal was not Washington’s focus at the moment, stressing that the priority was ensuring the Iranian people’s right to protest and “holding the regime accountable.”