Araghchi: JCPOA to be of no value for Iran if sanctions stay there
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for political affairs Abbas Araghchi says the nuclear deal Iran has signed with world countries will be no value for the country if sanctions are not lifted.
The diplomat said that for Iran removal of sanctions entails all the sanctions that are envisaged, firstly, in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), secondly, the ones which were imposed after the US withdrawal the nuclear deal, and thirdly, those were imposed under new labels through legal tricks.
As for the US return to the JCPOA, the said the important thing for Iran are the commitments these countries have taken within the framework of the JCPOA which specifically requires them to lift the sanctions.
The JCPOA, he went on to explain, is built on two pillars; one, Iran's nuclear actions, which take place over a period of time, and the other, the sanctions against Iran that the other side must remove.
Araghchi also noticed that naturally enough, if either of these two pillars does not exist, the nuclear deal will lose its relevance. Therefore, the return of the United States to the JCPOA is important to Iran only when it leads to the lifting of sanctions.
"When we say lifting of sanctions, we mean all the sanctions that were envisaged in the UN Security Council and were re-imposed after the withdrawal of the United States from the UN Security Council, as well as the sanctions that have been newly imposed and its title has been changed. This position is quite logical."
What we are doing now to reduce our commitments is a reaction to what the United States has done. Therefore, if the United States wants to return to the JCPOA and the nuclear deal regains its original form, it is natural that they should go back and lift their own sanctions, he added.
As the Supreme Leader of the Revolution said, let the truth be tested and we can be sure, then we will return to our commitments, the foreign ministry official added.
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