Reaching agreement hinges on US political conduct: Iran FM

Iran’s foreign minister says reaching an agreement with world powers through the Vienna talks depends entirely on the United States’ political conduct and the Europeans’ attention to the principles of negotiation, asserting that the US and its European allies would be to blame if the talks founder.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on the sidelines of the 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday.

He said Iran intends to reach a good agreement “but whether it takes a few days or a few weeks depends entirely on the behavior and will of the United States and Europe’s attention to the principles and rules of negotiation.”

Iran and the five remaining parties to the 2015 Iran deal, or the JCPOA, are engaged in the eighth round of negotiations in the Austrian capital to bring the US back into the deal by removing its sanctions, which are in grave violation of the agreement.

Back in 2018, then-US president Donald Trump left the deal in the hope of pressing Iran into signing a “better deal.” However, his move backfired as it prompted the Islamic Republic to reduce its nuclear obligations and advance its nuclear program to a level far beyond the pre-JCPOA era.

The Islamic Republic has occasionally said it has no trust in the United States and Europe since the former viciously left the Iran deal to pursue a confrontational policy against the Islamic Republic and the latter went along with it.

Raeisi to Macron: Any Vienna agreement must remove all anti-Iran sanctions, provide credible guarantees

Iran

From Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi said any possible agreement through the Vienna format must include the removal of all sanctions and the provision of credible guarantees that Iran will be able to thoroughly enjoy the dividends of the 2015 deal.

'West's double games'

Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Amir-Abdollahian said Iranian negotiators are facing “double games” played by the Western side over the “text” and the “time.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran participated in the new round of nuclear negotiations in good faith and seriousness,” the chief Iranian diplomat stated.

“What we are considering seems absolutely reasonable and fair: the removal of all sanctions inconsistent with the JCPOA, verification of sanctions removal, and presentation of absolutely necessary objective guarantees for the fulfillment of commitments,” he added.

Iran urges negotiating partners in Vienna to consider its red lines

Tehran calls on the remaining participants to the 2015 Iran deal to consider its red lines and avoid using media hype to sway negotiations in Vienna.

“If the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers fail in Vienna, Western powers will be responsible for it because we want a good deal.”

Amir-Abdollahian also said Iran needs to see “tangible steps of goodwill” on the part of the US, such as unfreezing Iran’s assets abroad, before even considering direct talks with Washington in the Austrian capital.

He said on Saturday that Iran is ready for an “immediate” prisoner swap with the United States.

“We believe prisoner swap is a humanitarian issue ... unrelated to the nuclear accord. We can do it immediately,” he told a panel at the conference, according to Reuters.

‘US, E3 need to make decision urgently’

In a tweet on Saturday evening, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also quoted Amir-Abdollahian as saying that Iran is determined to successfully conclude the talks in Vienna.

“We have already made our serious decisions & have demonstrated our seriousness all along,” Saeed Khatibzadeh quoted the foreign minister as saying.

“To reach the final agreement, it is now up to the E3 and the US to do the same, urgently.”

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