President Raisi says US sends mixed messages of talks, sanctions
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The US feels helpless about restricting Iran, so it imposes more sanctions, after failing at the "maximum pressure policy."
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
President Ebrahim Raisi stated that Iran is correct not to trust the US because Washington calls for negotiations and then imposes more sanctions.
Raisi stated on Friday during a general meeting titled "Jihad and Progress" that the Americans have publicly declared that their "maximum pressure policy" has failed and that they now want to restrict Iran through sanctions.
He stated that it surprised him how the Americans call for negotiations on the one hand while increasing sanctions against Iran on the other.
What kind of action is this, he wondered, adding that the international community should recognize Iran's right not to trust the US because it has broken its promise.
Read next: Raisi: Iran will not step back from its red lines in Vienna Talks
US in 'regular indirect contact' with Iran
The State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated that the US has been in regular indirect contact with Iran through the European Union and is awaiting a constructive response from Tehran about potentially returning to the Iran nuclear deal.
"We have we have been in regular indirect contact via the European Union," Price said during a press briefing. "We await a constructive response from the Iranians, a response that leaves behind issues that are extraneous to the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]."
Price stated that Tehran must drop its demands that go beyond the scope of the nuclear agreement in order for the JCPOA to go into effect as soon as possible. And what is deemed "beyond the scope", according to the US official, is lifting all the unilateral, unjust imposed on Iran, thus exacerbating the Iranian economic situation.
On his part, the advisor to the Iranian negotiating delegation in Vienna, Mohammad Marandi, confirmed in March that the US refuses so far to lift all sanctions imposed on Iran.
In an interview for Al Mayadeen, Marandi indicated that the American response to Iranian demands was delayed, noting that the hijacking of Iranian oil tankers is considered unacceptable to Iran.
He also revealed that there are problems between Moscow and Washington, explaining that the main obstacle is the American refusal to lift all sanctions imposed.
Read next: Iran sanctions could tighten if nuclear talks fade: US official
Iran and the P4+1, namely China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom, have been negotiating for over a year for the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, which was jeopardized by the abrupt US withdrawal in 2018.
The talks have been stalled for about three months because the United States has refused to lift sanctions against Iran.
