US Conduct Impeding Result in Vienna Talks: Iranian Speaker
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf blamed the contradiction between Washington’s words and deeds as the obstacle to progress in the Vienna talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In a meeting with a group of Croatian lawmakers in Tehran on Monday, Qalibaf said the contradiction between the words and actions of the Americans has prevented the Vienna negotiations from bearing fruit.
“While cruel and illegal sanctions are being imposed against Iran, it matters which countries stand together in difficult circumstances,” the Iranian Parliament speaker stated.
In comments on Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denounced the US’ conflicting policy of advocating negotiations and ramping up sanctions against Tehran at the same time, saying the Islamic Republic has a right to be mistrustful of the US.
“On the one hand, the Americans send messages that ‘we are prepared for agreement and negotiations’. On the other hand, they ramp up the sanctions. The world should give us the right to distrust them (Americans). They renege on promises,” the president stated.
His comments came after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a network of Iranian firms that help export the country’s petrochemical products.
The US administration, under former president Donald Trump, unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and launched a maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, despite the latter’s full adherence to its commitments under the deal.
Since April 2021, several rounds of talks between Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia -- have been held in the Austrian capital to bring the US back into the Iran deal. The Vienna talks, however, exclude American diplomats due to their country’s withdrawal from the deal.