TEHRAN (Iran News) – Foreign Ministry spokesman has criticized the United States for a halt in the Vienna negotiations on the revival of the 2015 Iran deal, saying American officials need to make a necessary political decision as soon as possible if they want to reach an agreement.
“All of us should not forget that what we are facing today is not an administration that wants to perform its duties, but rather, one that seeks to exploit legal means in order not to honor its obligations,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Monday.
Khatibzadeh further said the Vienna talks have come to a grinding halt because of such an American approach.
“The United States is trying to hold the remaining issues hostage to its internal affairs. We will not wait forever … The United States must make a political decision,” he said.
“The U.S. is responsible for the current pause in the talks and its [possible] protraction in the coming days. The solution is in the White House too. [The US] must respond logically to Iran’s rational demands, which have been approved by the P4+1 group of countries, so that we can go back to Vienna,” the Iranian diplomat added.
Khatibzadeh said an agreement is “very much within reach” if the U.S. becomes fully aware that Iran will neither abandon its red lines nor back down from its demands.
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry made it clear that the top issue in the Vienna talks is for Iran to be able to fully reap the economic benefits promised under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – as the deal is officially called.
Khatibzadeh further explained that Tehran has delivered clear messages to Washington via European Union deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora, but has yet to receive a new response from Americans.
He said the 63-year-old Spanish diplomat was carrying a message from the US during his visit to Iran last month.
“Our message, responses, and demands were crystal clear … Mr. Mora left Tehran with messages and answers from Iran, and we are still waiting for the answers of the other side, but no new answer has been received yet,” Khatibzadeh said.
He also noted that the imposition of illegal sanctions has become part of US policies, stressing that the Biden administration has followed in the footsteps of its predecessor.
“The United States must accept the fact that it must enter negotiations on the basis of equal footing,” he emphasized.
The foreign ministry spokesman also said that Iran welcomes a ceasefire in Yemen and has been waiting months for it.
Khatibzadeh responded about the violation of the ceasefire in Yemen and said that it had not been confirmed by Yemen’s National Government yet.
What is important is that Iran has been encouraging Saudi Arabia to stop taking action for months, he added.
Khatibzadeh had expressed hope that the move would begin a complete lifting of the blockade, a permanent ceasefire, and a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.
Now, the ceasefire in Yemen must be accompanied by Yemeni conversations inside the country and accessing humanitarian aid for them, Khatibzadeh said.
Regarding Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s phone talk with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Khatibzadeh, pointed out that this conversation was about Yemen’s situation too.
Khatibzadeh also referred to Afghanistan’s situation and expressed concern about the women and children deprived of their fundamental rights.
He added that Afghanistan’s government must take responsibility so that Afghanistan can overcome this crisis.
Khatibzadeh, once again, emphasized forming a comprehensive government in Afghanistan and said that the Afghan people are Iran’s priority.
