FM Amir-Abdollahian on Vienna Talks:

Window of Opportunity Open, But Not Forever

Date: 24 December 2022 - 22:01

News ID: ۱۱۰۵۵۲

TEHRAN -- Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian says the window of opportunity is open to reach a good and durable agreement on the removal of sanctions and revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Amir-Abdollahian twitted late Friday that he had talked with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about final steps to resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The window of agreement is open on the part of Iran, but not forever,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
The talks to salvage the JCPOA began in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April 2021, with the aim of removing anti-Iran sanctions and returning the U.S. to compliance with the deal.
The negotiations have been at a standstill since August due to Washington’s insistence on its hard-nosed position of not removing all the sanctions that were slapped on the Islamic Republic by the previous U.S. administration. Iran maintains it is necessary for the other side to offer some guarantees that it will remain committed to any agreement that is reached.
On Friday, Borrell said there is no alternative to the 2015 nuclear deal.
“I still believe that when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation, there is no alternative to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Those who think otherwise simply fool themselves,” Borrell said in a blog post.
He said he would “continue working towards restoring the JCPOA based on the results of the Vienna negotiations.”
The top EU diplomat said he held “long” talks with Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference ll in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Tuesday.
“I also stressed that bringing the JCPOA back to life does not happen in a strategic vacuum. It is part, a key part, of a broader picture.”
Borrell also underlined the bloc’s resolve to advance the Vienna talks and bring them to a conclusion.
Elsewhere in his post, Borrell claimed that Iran supports the “illegal war of aggression against Ukraine” by delivering drones and improving military cooperation with Russia, urging Tehran to “immediately stop its military support” for Moscow. The top EU diplomat claimed that Iran was making a “huge strategic mistake” and is choosing the “wrong path and is destroying its credibility when it pretends not to take sides in that war.”
He said the Iranian foreign minister “forcefully” denied Tehran is providing drones to Russia and said such deliveries had only happened before the war in Ukraine.
“In that regard, I urged the Foreign Minister [Amir-Abdollahian] to continue the direct conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart on the transfer of military equipment to Russia,” Borrell said.

Iran and Russia have repeatedly denied claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.
In his Twitter post, the Iranian foreign minister called for the political solution of the Ukraine crisis.
Amir-Abdollahian also said Washington is in no position to lecture others on human rights.
“Neither Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib tragedies nor the crimes perpetrated against women and children in Yemen and Afghanistan would entitle the United States the right to preach others,” he said.