Iran says no to step-by-step approach over nuclear deal

Khatibzadeh added that the Iranian negotiating team has presented two draft documents outlining its demands about the sanctions removal and also how it will reverse its remedial measures. 

He said Iran will negotiate in line with the drafts. Khatibzadeh said any step by step measures are out of the question. 

Khatibzadeh said Iran entered the Vienna talks with a firm determination and it believes a good deal is one which would be in line with the obligations of all parties to the JCPOA.

He added that the number of the Iranian delegation’s members and their qualifications show that the main goal is to authorize them to make decisions about sanctions at the negotiating table.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, all the provisions of the drafts build on the JCPOA and the drafts of the past six rounds of talks between Iran and the P5+1.

Khatibzadeh also described the approach of the US and the European troika as minimum. Khatibzadeh noted that the other side should also come to the negotiating table with clear proposals. He said Iran’s proposals are definitely negotiable.

Khatibzadeh noted that the other side is mistaken if it merely makes media statements and thinks it can play a blame game.

He added that Iran is in no rush nor will it allow anyone to waste its time and energy in Vienna.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also responded to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s claim that Iran is not serious about returning to compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA. He said a country that is not a party to the deal, has ceased abiding by the agreement, has done its best to force others into violation of the JCPOA and has punished those who stuck to it, such a country is in no position to make such statements. Khatibzadeh added that the US had better return to its obligations under the 2015 instead of making such statements which are mainly a blame-game aimed at dodging its own responsibility. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized French President Emmanuelle Macron’s claim that Iran’s nuclear issue is not separate from the Islamic Republic’s regional role.

Khatibzadeh said such comments are meant to please regional states who buy arms from France. He said such arms sales are fueling the war on Yemen.

On Israel’s call for the West to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, Khatibzadeh said such anti-Iran statements are made by a regime which has stockpiled nuclear warheads and is not a signatory to any international treaties or safeguards agreements.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman also spoke of the recent comments by the Arab League’s secretary general against Tehran.

He said the Islamic Republic is a stabilizing force in the region and acts responsibly. Khatibzadeh urged the Arab League to create unity in the Muslim and Arab world, not division.

He added that such irresponsible statements only serve the interests of the Zionist regime.