TEHRAN - Iran’s top negotiator Ali Baqeri-Kani in talks aimed at removing U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran in a video conference with deputy foreign ministers of Russia and China, Sergei Ryabkov and Ma Zhaoxu, has said ensuring effective removal of sanctions is the main priority of the upcoming talks in the Austrian capital.
Baqeri-Kani, who serves as Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, pointed to his recent talks with officials of France, Germany, Britain and Spain about the forthcoming talks with the P4+1 group of countries, slated to start later this month, and said, “The effective removal of the illegal U.S. sanctions is a necessity and the main priority of the upcoming negotiations.”
Recently, Baqeri-Kani traveled to France, Germany, Britain and Spain. During his tour and on Friday, Iran’s chief negotiator held talks in the Spanish capital of Madrid with EU deputy foreign policy chief, Enrique Mora, who chairs the JCPOA Joint Commission on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Baqeri-Kani said “effective removal of unlawful sanctions & importance of assurances on non-repetition was emphasized” during his visits to France, Germany, Britain and Spain.
During his Monday talks, the Iranian chief negotiator emphasized that the removal of all sanctions, which have been imposed on Tehran in violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and end to measures, which are inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, in a verifiable way that would help Iran enjoy the economic and trade benefits of the landmark deal are “necessary conditions” for the Vienna talks to succeed.
Baqeri-Kani said the three countries of Iran, China, and Russia see eye to eye on the need to promote multilateralism and counter unilateralism.
“The oppressive U.S. sanctions against Iran are the price of the country’s fight against unilateralism,” he pointed out.
The JCPOA was unilaterally abandoned by the U.S. in 2018 despite Iran’s full compliance with its nuclear undertakings, as repeatedly certified by the UN nuclear agency. The U.S. then unleashed a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, which practically deprived the country of all of the deal’s economic benefits.
Iran fully honored its nuclear obligations for an entire year, after which it decided to ramp up its nuclear work as a legal “remedial measure” against the U.S. violation of the deal and the abject failure on the part of the other signatories, the E3 in particular, to safeguard its benefits.
Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 are expected to hold the seventh round of discussions in Vienna on November 29. The negotiations were paused in June, when Iran held its presidential election. Since then, the new Iranian administration has been reviewing the details of the six rounds of discussions held under the previous administration.