Amir-Abdollahian: Washington must show goodwill
Iran's Foreign Minister commented on the US decision to restore sanctions waiver by saying, Washington must demonstrate goodwill on the ground, not just on paper.
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Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterates that Iran wants guarantees sanctions will not be reimposed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Fars News Agency on Saturday that Iran told the US side, through intermediaries, that they should demonstrate their goodwill, noting that "what happens on paper is good but not enough."
Amir-Abdollahian stressed the urge to translate US statements of goodwill into concrete activities to speed up progress on the ground.
“We demanded the guarantee at all political, legal, and economic levels. Agreements have been reached in some areas, but the Iranian negotiating team will seriously pursue getting tangible guarantees from the Western sides that they will abide by their commitments under a Vienna deal”, he concluded
On his account, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said that "waiving some sanctions is not enough", stressing that the “US must lift all sanctions, including nuclear ones”.
In response to the US administration’s decision to restore the sanctions waivers, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday that “Iran's legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement.”
Meanwhile, Iranian government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi said “Iran's decision has been clear from the beginning; Iran is facing sanctions that are illegal, oppressive, anti-human rights, and against international law and considers them illegal and cruel.”
“Iran is serious and determined and knows its right when it comes to sanctions being lifted,” Jahromi added.
On Friday, the US administration restored sanctions waivers to Iran as indirect negotiations in Vienna concerning the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal near its final stages. US officials denied granting Iran any concessions, saying this move is a critical gesture to build support for returning to the deal and bringing other parties - UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union - on board.
Despite the State Department’s claims, Iran seems to be able to leverage its position notably with Washington’s internal disputes exhausting policymakers. The eighth round of nuclear talks began last month and was halted last week.
On Thursday, the European Commission announced that the current round is set to resume soon in the Austrian capital, with speculations now indicating that it's most probably going to occur at the start of next week.
