Araghchi: US, all sides serious about reviving JCPOA

After the end of the fourth round of JCPOA Joint Commission meeting between Iran and P 4+1 on Friday, Araghchi said that today the first meeting of the Joint Commission of the new round of negotiations was held in Vienna and in the afternoon the working group on the lifting of sanctions and the nuclear working group will start its activities.

He added that after a period when the delegations had gone to their capitals for consultation, today they started discussions.

Araghchi said that what can be inferred from the first session is the seriousness of all sides in reaching a solution, adding that the seriousness is apparent in all delegations, and each of them somehow expressed it.

The news that comes from the US is that they are also serious about returning to the JCPOA, and so far they have declared their readiness to lift a large part of the sanctions which is not yet complete in Iran’s view, and that is why negotiations will continue until Iran reaches all its demands in this regard, he reiterated.

Araghchi went on to say that if the demands of the Islamic Republic of Iran are met, Iran is quite serious in returning to its JCPOA commitments, adding that it is Iran's determination that has been taken and has nothing to do with other issues in Tehran.

Elections are an important issue in the country, but the JCPOA negotiations have nothing to do with it, he noted.

He further noted that their negotiations are held regardless of any peripheral and side issues, adding that they are just looking for national goals and consider the security of national interests.

They are only acting along with the defined ways, which is one of the definite stances of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to secure the interests of the country and the lifting of sanctions, he underscored.

Araghchi said that they started the new round with positive energy and hope to sum up their efforts in the shortest possible time, of course, they can not predict time, but they hope they can do it sooner.

The challenges and disputes are not small and there should be a discussion and negotiations to find solutions to them, he added.

Regarding the next round of talks, Araghchi pointed out that negotiations do not have weekends, and they continue at the working group level, so their experts who have started their work in the afternoon, if necessary, will work round-the-clock and whenever needed, to sum up, solve their problems, or for any other reason, the Joint Commission reconvenes.

He stressed that the heads of delegations will be present in Vienna and even at weekends to lead expert negotiations, and whenever necessary, a joint commission meeting will be held again.

Referring to the presence of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Vienna, he said that he met him yesterday, but he has no news about other meetings of him, of course, it is natural that the delegations have consultations with him.

Araghchi emphasized that the agency is an expert on technical issues and its expert opinions can help to solve some misunderstandings and problems, and therefore consultations and agencies are naturally conducted by all parties. At any stage, they may request IAEA Director-General and his colleagues formally to attend the meetings and express only their expert opinions.

The fourth round of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action aka JCPOA Joint Commission meeting between Iran and P 4+1 ended few hours ago on Friday and it was decided that the working groups continue the work on the draft agreement immediately.

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