TEHRAN -- As negotiations continue in Vienna to revive the U.S.-ditched Iran deal and remove sanctions, Tehran said Tuesday Washington’s proven disloyalty to its own signature is the most significant threat to any agreement.
“Proven American malpractice is the most important threat to any agreement. Verification and providing a guarantee is an integral part of a #GoodDeal,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani wrote in a tweet.
Shamkhani stressed that any deal at the ongoing eighth round of Vienna talks between representatives from the Islamic Republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 agreement must entail sustainable economic benefits for the country.
“The real lifting of sanctions means that #Iran will enjoy credible and sustainable economic benefits,” he said.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the West’s lack of resolve to achieve a good deal in Vienna has prolonged the negotiations.
“Some hasty measures, repetitive tampering with the text and lack of serious resolve for achieving a good and reliable agreement in Vienna by the Western sides have caused the negotiations to become unnecessarily protracted,” Amir-Abdollahian said during a telephone conversation with European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell.
Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the “serious efforts” made by Iran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani during the talks as well as the “realistic” initiatives offered by the Iranian negotiating team, emphasizing that any proposal offered by the other parties must take Tehran’s legitimate rights and demands into consideration.
“We will never back down from our red lines, which are based on logic and realism,” he said.
Diplomats from Iran and the five remaining signatories to the deal – Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany – have been negotiating in the Austrian capital for over 10 months with the aim of reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) through bringing the U.S. back into full compliance with the deal.
The two sides have bridged some gaps since the talks began last year, but differences remain, especially on the issue of U.S. sanctions. Tehran wants all sanctions imposed by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump removed and says the issue is its red line.
President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday said an agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear deal was “at hand”, but insisted that sanctions be “truly lifted”.
Raisi said during a meeting with visiting Irish foreign and defense minister Simon Coveney that “the rights of the Iranian people must be respected” in the ongoing negotiations.
Raisi also hailed Ireland’s “independence from the United States and some European countries”, adding that the two countries have “vast capabilities” to strengthen ties, according to official news agency IRNA.
Also on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian said that he believed an agreement is “at hand” soon, provided that the U.S. and European parties “are serious” about returning to full compliance with the deal.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Coveney, the Iranian top diplomat said: “We are serious and ready to reach a good agreement.”
Ireland has been acting as the facilitator for UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was agreed in 2015 to endorse the JCPOA.
“Our goal is the full removal of all JCPOA sanctions,” Amir-Abdollahian said, adding that “it is better for the Islamic Republic to reach an agreement today rather than tomorrow”.
The Iranian top diplomat’s remarks followed comments by his ministry’s spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, who said earlier on Monday that talks were complicated but added that “there is no impasse in Vienna”.
“The negotiations are complicated and difficult as they have reached key issues that need serious political decisions, especially by Washington,” Khatibzadeh told a news conference.
“We need objective guarantees to make sure the U.S. does not leave the agreement once again and that it honors its commitments,” Khatibzadeh said. “All JCPOA sanctions with any labels must be lifted at the same time,” he added.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the U.S. is the culprit behind the crisis created around Iran’s nuclear program, adding Washington needs to take further active measures to resolve the remaining issues.
“It is incumbent on the U.S., the culprit of the Iranian nuclear crisis, to take further active measures in exchange for reciprocal steps by the Iranian side so that

all remaining issues may be resolved at an early date,” he said at a press conference on Monday.
Wang said the negotiations in the Austrian capital have entered “the final stage” and that there is still an important opportunity to bring the agreement back on track.
However, he added, there are still some important issues that need to be resolved as all parties are engaged in intensive consultations to seek a “package solution”.
“As a Chinese saying goes, ninety miles is only half of a hundred-mile journey, for the going is toughest toward the end. In the final stage of negotiations, all parties should persevere, uphold mutual respect, think out of the box, gather consensus, and strive for breakthroughs on outstanding issues.”