TEHRAN -- Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said Monday Iran and the U.S. are exchanging messages and this is done through the European coordinator for the negotiations Enrique Mora.
“What is being talked about in Vienna is in strict compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and there is no plan to make any change to the JCPOA. The JCPOA and the UN Security Council resolution 2231 have been the criteria for how we proceed,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said in his weekly presser.
Iran has always said over the 11-month negotiations that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, he said.
Khatibzadeh also talked about the release of Iranian assets in foreign banks.
“The release of the assets of the Iranian nation and return of the money to the country is the business of no third country and the fact that the U.S. government tries to interfere in every issue related to Iran, shows how far the U.S. administration stands from what President Joe Biden claims,” he said.
His comments came after U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said U.S. partners have not released any blocked funds to Iran, nor has Washington authorized or approved any such funds to Iran.
In comments at a joint press conference with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said an “initial agreement” has been reached to release Iran’s funds held by a foreign bank.
Officials and media said recently that Iran is set to recover $7 billion of its frozen assets “soon” independent of any outcome to the Vienna nuclear talks.
Khatibzadeh said that the 2015 nuclear deal has not been working for Iran for years.
“Iran’s economic benefits have been neglected for years. We are a responsible country, and we adhere to a commitment once we sign it,” he said, adding that Tehran has its Plan B and C, regardless of the Vienna talks.
“Sanctions removal is a key issue in ministry of foreign affairs, but neutralizing sanctions has always been on the agenda too. Iran is continuing to neutralize sanctions according to its B and C plans,” he said.
The spokesman also touched on the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Zionist forces, stressing that the normalization process advanced by leaders of some Arabic and Islamic countries has further emboldened the occupying regime amid the silence of the international bodies and some Islamic countries.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran

has followed up on the matter with moves at the level of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and ministers of Islamic countries as well as other international organizations and consultations with officials of other countries are ongoing,” he said.
Khatibzadeh also responded to comments by Ukraine’s ambassador to Tehran on Iranians having failed to help Ukraine financially in the wake of the conflict with Russia.
“We have talked about our opposition to war time and again, while the roots of this crisis should be seriously reviewed. Today the solution for Ukraine is commitment to the UN Charter and sincere adherence to international agreements and dialog. The Ukrainian ambassador also would better read the tweet by the Ukrainian foreign minister again to realize the position of his government,” he said.
Khatibzadeh also talked about a claim by a U.S. newspaper on a demand for guarantees from Iran to forgo retaliation for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
“Perpetrators and relevant advisors in this act of cowardice will not go unpunished. This is a definite principle in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.