Sanctions must be lifted when nuclear deal goes into effect: Iran

A top Iranian negotiator says anti-Iran sanctions must be lifted simultaneously with the implementation of a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and the group of six countries (P5+1).

Abbas Araqchi said Wednesday that parties involved in the nuclear talks with Tehran must annul the current economic and financial sanctions on the Islamic Republic on the day a potential deal on the country’s nuclear program goes into effect.

He made the remarks upon his arrival in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where a fresh round of nuclear talks is going on between members of the Iranian team and representatives of the six countries.

Araqchi added that Iran, for its part, will have to carry out a series of “time-consuming” measures for the sanctions to be lifted, adding that the two sides are working on a timetable to synchronize the two sides undertakings after the deal is finalized.

“Some solutions have been proposed and we are working on them. For us, the principle of simultaneity is very important,” Araqchi said.

Talks extension, a possibility

The diplomat, who serves as Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, added that the Iranian team is trying to reach a “good deal” and for such an agreement the two sides may be forced to extend their talks beyond the June 30 deadline.

“We are not bound by time, but we are committed to this issue that a good agreement with details that are favorable to us is hammered out, even if it may take a long time,” Araqchi said, noting, "We are trying to do everything before the deadline, but the deadline is not something sacred for us, if we need more time to continue our discussion, we will certainly do that."

The new round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - is expected to continue until Friday with the aim of removing the remaining stumbling blocks ahead of a final deal. The two sides have set the end of June as a deadline for the deal.

The Wednesday negotiations were held between Iranian deputy foreign ministers, Araqchi and Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, and deputy foreign policy chief of the European Union Helga Schmid.

The deputy-level talks opened at 11.30 a.m. local time and ended after two hours of intense discussions. Experts from the two sides will continue discussing the details in the coming hours.

The two sides wrapped up their latest round of talks in Vienna on May 22.

Iran and the P5+1 group and the EU reached a framework agreement Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne in April.

MS/HMV/GHN

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