Araghchi: We Will Not Accept Any Agreement Without Addressing Our Major Concerns
Abbas Araghchi, the lead negotiator of the Islamic Republic in the Vienna talks, stated in an interview with Press TV that “a good agreement is achieved when our major concerns are addressed, and we will not accept any agreement without fulfilling this.”
The sixth round of negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the P4+1 countries to return to the JCPOA began on Friday, June 11, in Vienna. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s lead negotiator in these talks, in an interview with Press TV, the English-language channel of Iran’s state radio and television, regarding whether an agreement will be reached in this round, said: “We must have a good agreement. A good agreement is achieved when our major concerns are addressed and our key objectives are met. We will not accept any agreement without fulfilling these conditions.”
Many observers and experts say that the preference of all negotiating parties is to reach an agreement before Iran’s presidential elections (this Friday).
This is while Araghchi said in this regard: “We continue the negotiations. We are not in a hurry. We have not set any deadline for ourselves. What matters is a good agreement that contains our key and important requirements and encompasses the positions we have announced so far.”
The main point of disagreement in these negotiations is that Iran says all sanctions imposed by the United States must be lifted, and then this country will return to its JCPOA commitments, which it has gradually withdrawn from. This is while the United States and also European countries are unwilling to lift sanctions related to human rights violations and Iran’s missile activities.
Araghchi, however, once again implicitly reiterated and clarified Iran’s demand: “The Islamic Republic of Iran has made difficult decisions up to this point, (meaning) after the United States’ illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA, when Iran decided to remain in the agreement (it made its difficult decision). We made our difficult decision at that time, but now it is the other side’s turn. If they want to return to the JCPOA and if they want the Islamic Republic of Iran to return to full implementation of its JCPOA commitments, they must also make their difficult decisions.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that the United States must ensure that withdrawal from the agreement will not happen again. He also said about subsequent rounds of negotiations and the possibility of reaching a conclusion: “We will continue these discussions and talks—for as long as necessary. I don’t think we can reach a final result in this round, and we cannot even predict that the next round will be the final round. We don’t count the rounds of negotiations; we count our interests.”
Iran’s extended deadline for lifting all sanctions is June 24. If sanctions are not lifted by that date, according to the decision of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Iran must suspend the implementation of the Additional Protocol.
Araghchi, however, expressed hope that this does not happen. He said: “No one wants to reach such a stage, because it will make our talks even more difficult. Of course, the timeline between Iran and the Agency in our talks has its own effects, but we are trying to minimize the impact of this issue.”
He added: “It is still too early to want to reach that point. We still have enough time to reach a point where Iran can return to full implementation of the Additional Protocol. Let’s not judge now; let’s wait and see how the situation develops in the coming days.”
The Vienna talks take place between the Islamic Republic and the countries of Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia, with the indirect presence of the United States.
Source: DW
