Iran’s foreign minister has said the US decision to restore sanctions waiver on the civil nuclear programme was “good but not enough” as indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the 2015 nuclear deal entered the final stretch,
Al Jazeera reports.
The sanctions relief, which allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation work at Iranian nuclear sites, was rescinded by the Trump administration in May 2020, two years after the US walked out of the landmark deal.
“The lifting of some sanctions can, in the true sense of the word, translate into their goodwill. Americans talk about it, but it should be known that what happens on paper is good but not enough,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, quoted by ISNA news agency.
Amirabdollahian reiterated that one of the “main issues” in the nuclear talks is obtaining guarantees that the US will not withdraw from the 2015 deal again.
“We seek and demand guarantees in the political, legal and economic sectors,” he said, adding that “agreements have been reached in some areas”.
The US State Department said on Friday it was waiving sanctions on Iran’s civil nuclear programme in a technical step necessary to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, as the nuclear deal is officially known.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Saturday also called the US sanctions relief insufficient, saying Tehran expects the lifting of sanctions outlined under the nuclear deal.
“Everyone knows that is not sufficient,” Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying by the Iranian Jamaran news website. “Indeed, the Islamic Republic of Iran is waiting for the US to implement its duties and commitments according to the nuclear deal dimensions.”