Iran Says Will Never Sit for New Round of Talks under Pressure

Addressing a Turkish think tank in Ankara, the Iranian diplomat described the US policy towards Iran as ridiculous and said the Americans should know that Iran will never sit for talks under pressure.

“The Americans seek a better deal through exerting pressure on Iran to sit for a new round of talks. They quit a treaty to make another one and this is ridiculous,” he said.

According to Araqchi, the US is desperately trying to push Iran into quitting the JCPOA. “They first withdrew from the nuclear deal and then re-imposed their sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Now, they have decided not to re-issue waivers for main importers of Iran’s oil to drive down Iran’s oil exports to zero.”

Possible Death of JCPOA

Araqchi warned that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may come to an end as early as possible due to the US approach towards the deal.

“The JCPOA is not an economic deal but a security one connected to regional and global security,” he noted.

He went on to say that the JCPOA was ratified by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 2231. “Violating the nuclear deal means violating the UNSC resolution. The US has not only pulled out of the deal but also pressurized other members of the UNSC into following its footsteps,” he said.

According to Araqchi, Iran has been sanctioned because of its full commitment to the United Nations’ resolution.

US Lies about JCPOA’s Goals

The Iranian diplomat added that unlike the American officials’ claim, Iran’s commitments under the nuclear deal are permanent.

“We started the JCPOA negotiation in a good faith. The final achievement of our marathon negotiations was the JCPA. It was globally welcomed. But all of a sudden, a man pushed his way into the White House and said the nuclear deal was the worst deal in the US history,” he said.

Araqchi said Iran has given a one-year time to the remaining signatories of the nuclear deal to adopt appropriate mechanism to keep the nuclear deal alive and added the Islamic Republic of Iran can’t wait forever.

“We will make a due decision against the US sanctions. The global failure to keep the JCPOA alive will have dire consequences.”

Ruining Only Diplomatic Achievement of Region

The Iranian deputy foreign minister called the US regional policy wrong and said the policy could have various negative consequences.

“By withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the US is seeking to ruin the region’s only diplomatic achievement. This will have dire regional repercussions. The regional people will lose their confidence in diplomacy. This will contribute to resistance movements in the region. People now have come to this conclusion that talks with the west leads nowhere.”

The Iranian diplomat slammed the US for its destructive policy towards the region and said Iran is after peace and security.

“Interestingly enough, some regional states are contributing to the US efforts to hamper Iran’s oil flow. But the Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow any state to make up for its oil exports,” he said.

IRGC Blacklisting, A Dangerous Move

Araqchi described as “dangerous” the US decision to blacklist Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and said the US should be held accountable for any consequences of the move.