Iran joins JCPOA revival talks based on national interests: FM

Hossein Amirabdollahian said Tuesday that although the Iran deal was signed during the ex-Iranian administration, the succeeding administration of President Ebrahim Raisi has placed the upholding of international commitments high on its agenda.

“Negotiations with the Americans continue through messages, with a focus on the removal of US sanctions,” he said.

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, “senior US officials were seeking direct talks with me so we can resolve the issues in the talks and advance them,” the minister said.

“I asked the foreign minister carrying the [American] message to tell [US Vice President] Kamala Harris to let us know if a group of rebels are at the helm of the White House. Such a rebel group must also remain committed to international agreements legally and politically,” he added.

Amirabdollahian reaffirmed, “We act with full independence and based on national interests in foreign policy.”

Several rounds of negotiations have been held in the Austrian capital since April 2021 to bring the US back into the Iran deal.

Over the past weeks, however, the talks have hit an impasse, as the US insists on its refusal to effectively remove all the sanctions imposed on Iran in the aftermath of its exit from the 2015 deal.