Iranian nation’s rights must be guaranteed in any negotiations: President Raeisi

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi says the rights of the Iranian nation must be guaranteed in any negotiations and its interests must be met.

Raeisi made the remarks in a Monday phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during which the two sides discussed matters of mutual interest as well as negotiations on the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal with the world powers.

Referring to frequent violations of the nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), by the United States and lack of commitment to their obligations by its European signatories, Raeisi said, “By imposing  new sanctions [on Iran], Americans clearly violated their obligations and even extended new sanctions to cover humanitarian articles as well.”

Emphasizing that both the United States and European countries must fulfill their obligations as per the nuclear deal, Iran’s president said, “The rights of the Iranian nation must be guaranteed in any negotiations and the interests of our nation must be met.”

The JCPOA was reached between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

The deal was ditched by former US President Donald Trump in 2018 in spite of Iran’s full compliance with its contractual obligations.

Washington then began to put enormous pressure on Iran through sanctions, in what it called a “maximum pressure” policy, in order to force Tehran to negotiate a “better deal.”

Now President Joe Biden, who was the vice president of the United States when the deal was inked, has promised to re-enter the JCPOA and abandon Trump’s “failed” maximum pressure campaign.

Since April, representatives from Iran and the remaining signatories to the JCPOA have been holding face-to-face talks in the Austrian capital aimed at bringing the US back to compliance and putting the deal back on track.

Iranian MP: JCPOA talks framework will not change under Raeisi administration

A top Iranian lawmaker says the framework of Iran’s policy at the Vienna talks will not change under the new administration in Tehran.

So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held in the Austrian capital, as a result of which, according to participants, “significant progress” has been made in the course of the “constructive” and “businesslike” talks.

However, disagreements have persisted over a number of issues, including how to sequence the US sanctions removal, with Tehran arguing that since Washington was the party that violated the terms of the agreement, it should take the first step back into compliance with the deal by removing its unilateral sanctions.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi said, "The Islamic Republic is very serious about ensuring security and maintaining deterrence in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and will counter any party that would try to undermine security in the region."

Tensions simmer in the region in the wake of a recent suspected drone attack on the Israeli-managed tanker -- Mercer Street -- off the Omani coast, where two crew members were killed. With no evidence, the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Iran for the incident. Tehran categorically rejects the blame.

Persian Gulf fully secure; foreign powers not welcome in strategic region: IRGC Navy commander

The commander of the IRGC’s Navy says the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are fully secure and there is no need for presence of foreign powers.

Maritime sources reported that the Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess had been seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates at the opening of the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s busiest waterways, accusing Iran of being behind the incident.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said a day later on August 3 that the potential hijack of the Panama-flagged vessel had ended, without giving any further details. 

Macron: Iran, France can help establish peace in region

The French president, for his part, congratulated Raeisi on his election as Iran's new president, wishing him success during his term in office.

The French president added that cooperation between Tehran and Paris could be instrumental in establishing peace and stability in the region.

Macron pointed to the US' unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and expressed his country's determination to find a solution to the issue.

"We hope to come up with a solution for this problem and are hopeful that negotiations [on the revival of the JCPOA] would be restarted," the French president said.

He also called for the continuation of dialogue between Tehran and Paris to further strengthen the two countries' relations.

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