The head of Iran’s JCPOA follow-up committee said Mon. that the country’s main objective in nuclear negotiations with 5+1 was to establish its right to nuclear energy, not to merely call for sanctions relief. Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, who also heads the follow-up committee on JCPOA, made the remarks in a […]
The head of Iran’s JCPOA follow-up committee said Mon. that the country’s main objective in nuclear negotiations with 5+1 was to establish its right to nuclear energy, not to merely call for sanctions relief.
Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, who also heads the follow-up committee on JCPOA, made the remarks in a televised interview Monday night, adding “the sanctions relief was not our main concern, but one of our key demands during the negotiations. Our main concern for agreeing to sit down at the negotiating table was to establish Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy.”
“I do not believe that our negotiations with the 5+1 was solely aimed at sanctions relief,” Araghchi added. “That the international community and UN Security Council recognized and respected our right to nuclear energy was enough for us.”
Araghchi stressed that all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran have been lifted under the JCPOA.
“What we consider as US’ violation of commitments under the nuclear deal, and have reported to the joint commission, is that the Trump administration is trying to undermine the spirit of the deal [and spoil its positive outcomes for Iran] more vigorously than ever,” Araghchi said.
He added that the US visa restrictions for Iranian nationals was an attempt at undermining the ‘JCPOA atmosphere’, but not a blatant violation of the agreement.
“For Washington, the flaw in the nuclear agreement is that it does not include Iran’s missile program,” Araghchi said, stressing that the JCOPA is non-negotiable and Iran’s missile program will never be included in it.
“The prices we paid for the nuclear deal are reversible,” Araghchi said, adding that it was not the case for the US. “If Mr. Trump was not afraid of the price the US would pay, he would have withdrawn from the agreement a long time ago.”
“The region and the world are in chaos, and canceling the JCPOA will definitely not make the world any more secure,” he concluded.
