Khatibzadeh: US Pursuing ‘Delay Policy’ Regarding JCPOA Revival
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says message exchanges between Iran and the US through Enrique Mora are underway. The atmosphere in Vienna is suitable for reviving the JCPOA, but Washington has adopted a ‘delay policy’.
Saeid Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, emphasized on Monday, April 19, during his weekly press conference that “currently the Vienna atmosphere is not negative” and added: “We will not agree on anything until we agree on the totality of the agreement.”
According to Iranian news agencies, Khatibzadeh, stating that “some issues still remain,” announced: “There will be no changes made to the JCPOA, and remaining issues, when completed, will allow us to say an agreement is within reach.”
Khatibzadeh, emphasizing that “Iran and the 1+4 have completed all their work and are waiting for an appropriate response from Washington to address concerns,” said: “What is being discussed in Vienna respects all provisions of the JCPOA, and the two JCPOA documents and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are the criteria for movement.”
He also claimed regarding the return of blocked funds to Iran that agreements have been made about releasing these funds that “are not related to the United States.”
Khatibzadeh’s optimistic remarks about reviving the JCPOA and unblocking Iran’s frozen funds come while Ned Price, US State Department spokesman, emphasized that all US sanctions will remain in place until there is reciprocal return to the JCPOA.
Mr. Price, in a press conference on Thursday, while emphasizing the falsity of some reports published about lifting sanctions, stated that no progress has been made in JCPOA revival negotiations. He, referring to the inaccuracy of reports about unfreezing Iran’s blocked funds, said that US partners have not placed these funds at Iran’s disposal, Iran’s funds held in frozen accounts in third countries have not been released, the United States has not issued any authorization in this regard and has not approved their transfer to Iran.
The optimistic remarks of Iran’s Islamic Republic officials regarding JCPOA revival despite the halt in Vienna talks come as Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, stated that “the Iranian side’s request and insistence on removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the list of terrorist organizations, which is unrelated to the JCPOA, has created problems in the negotiation process.”
