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Time Running out for US to Lift Sanctions, Return to JCPOA: Iran

February 11, 2021

Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said Washington should correct its policies as soon as possible.

“If they want to preserve the JCPOA as a very important diplomacy achievement and a very significant tool in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, they should make up their minds very quickly because … time is running out,” said Araqchi in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).

“We are not in a hurry, but the new administration in the United States should adopt its policies on the JCPOA very quickly. Otherwise, this chance could be missed,” Araqchi note.

He touched upon legislation by the Iranian Parliament to counter sanctions.

“Parliament has instructed the government to immediately start uranium enrichment to the 20-percent purity level. This is something which we did almost a month ago, and afterwards, thebParliament decided to stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol two months after the legislation went into effect,” Araqchi explained.

‘The deadline is February 21, 2021. So, if sanctions are not lifted by that date, we have no other option but to implement the decisions which have been adopted and halt the implementation of the Additional Protocol,” said the deputy foreign minister.

“That means the number of inspections as well as the number of international inspectors in Iran will drop,” he said.

He also responded to remarks by US President Joe Biden who had said Iran needs to comply with its commitments under the JCPOA before Washington lifts sanctions.

“The US should lift sanctions and [stop] actions against Iran first,” he underlined.

“Iran stands ready to immediately and fully return to its obligations under the JCPOA,” he said.

“The situation is crystal clear. It is not Iran that left the JCPOA; rather, it was the US that withdrew from the agreement,” he said.

“The US chose to stop being a party to the JCPOA. They left the [negotiating] table and re-imposed sanctions. They even slapped new sanctions against Iran,” he said.

“Now, if their policy is to return to the JCPOA and become a signatory to the deal once again, they should lift sanctions,” Araqchi stressed.

He noted that Iran’s scaling down its commitments under the JCPOA was in reaction to the United States’ violation of the deal and the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran.

He said Iran can return to its obligations as stipulated in Clause 36 of the JCPOA.

“Everybody is saying that it is the US that should return to the JCPOA first,” he said.

“Whenever they rejoin the deal and lift sanctions against Iran and we confirm that sanctions are lifted, then we will be ready to return to the JCPOA immediately,” he said.

Araqchi was asked by the CGTN to give his thoughts on US President Joe Biden’s remarks that if Washington is supposed to enter into negotiations with Tehran on rejoining the JCPOA, it might bring up other issues such as missile issues and Iran’s regional activities.

“It is out of the question,” he said in response.

Araqchi reiterated that the JCPOA only concerns “Iran limiting its peaceful nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, and that’s all.”

Iranian Diplomat, Syrian President Meet in Damascus

IFP Editorial Staff

February 11, 2021

During the meeting, the two sides conferred on the latest developments in Syria, the next week’s meeting of the Astana Process in Sochi, and the recent talks of the Constitutional Committee held in Geneva.

President Assad praised Iran’s stances in support of the Syrian nation and government, and underlined the significance of constant coordination and consultation between the two countries, maintaining the achievements in bilateral relations, and the political process and Astana meetings.

Khaji, in turn, elaborated on Iran’s viewpoints and stances regarding the Astana Process and the fifth meeting of Syria’s Constitutional Committee in Geneva.

He also highlighted the importance of continued activities of the Astana mechanism and helping facilitate the talks within the framework of the Constitutional Committee with the aim of settling the country’s political issues.

In this meeting, the two sides also discussed the issue of reinforcing bilateral and multilateral economic collaborations with Syria.

The Iranian diplomat also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad during his trip to the Arab country.

Iran Condemns Deadly Blasts in Kabul

IFP Editorial Staff

February 10, 2021

In a statement, Khatibzadeh offered condolences to the Afghan nation and government over the incident.

He also called on all forces interested in the fate and future of Afghanistan not to allow violence to grow and prevent ordinary people from falling victim to this wave of organized violence.

A chain of bomb explosions targeting Kabul police on Wednesday killed a district police chief and his bodyguard, and also wounded five people, officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, which were all caused by so-called sticky bombs, explosive devices attached to vehicles that are remotely detonated or set off by timers.

The largest of the attacks struck a police car in a western Kabul neighbourhood; the force of the blast was so strong that the car flipped upside down, killing the city’s District 5 police chief, Mohammadzai Kochi, and his bodyguard. The driver of the car was wounded, according to two Afghan officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said an hour before that blast, two other sticky bomb explosions took place. One of them, about 500 metres away from where the police car was targeted, wounded four civilians. There were no casualties in the other blast, which took place elsewhere in Kabul.

Afghanistan has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings, and violence on the battlefield as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government have stalled.

Iran Denies CBC’s Claim Ukrainian Plane Shot Down ‘Intentionally’

IFP Editorial Staff

February 10, 2021

Iran Sends Ukrainian Jetliner’s Black Box to Paris

CBC News reported on Tuesday that the Canadian government and security agencies are reviewing an audio recording in which a man — identified by sources as Iran’s foreign minister — discusses the possibility that the destruction of Flight PS752 was an intentional act.

The individual is heard saying on the recording that there are a “thousand possibilities” to explain the downing of the jet, including a deliberate attack involving two or three “infiltrators” — a scenario he said was “not at all unlikely.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said many of the statements attributed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are basically not compatible with the language that he commonly uses.

“The claim that such a tape exists is not true,” he said.

“Of course, everyone knows that Dr. Zarif, in his meetings and official contacts in the days and weeks following the catastrophe of the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft, including in his contact and meeting with the Canadian foreign minister, stressed the necessity of reviewing all possibilities surrounding the reasons and conditions of this tragedy, and electronic interference or the presence of infiltrators could be part of these possibilities,” he said.

“This viewpoint does not belong to Dr. Zarif only; rather, as official remarks (including the ones made at the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission) show, the country’s security authorities have all reviewed these possibilities and finally arrived at the conclusion that a disastrous human error was the cause of the tragedy,” Khatibzadeh underlined.

“Accordingly, proceedings into the case are underway at competent judicial bodies of the Armed Forces,” the spokesman explained.

“Investigations into air accidents is a completely specialized and technical issue, and by rumour-mongering and politically-motivated moves, one cannot force public opinion to accept a result which is aimed at serving wicked political objectives,” he said.

“We want Canada not to add to the sufferings and grief of the bereaved families with such moves and by spreading rumours,” he said.

Khatibzadeh also touched upon measures adopted to follow up on the incident.

“The report on the accident by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization is not a journalistic report based on conjecture which is drawn up based on the request of a given country,” he said.

“Rather, it is a technical and specialized report written by impartial and competent experts,” Khatibzadeh added.

He said the Iranian team looking into the incident prepared the report after consultations with seasoned experts from countries such as Canada the US and France and sent it to the relevant countries, which had two months to inform Iran of their opinion and possible technical issues about the report.

“This two-month opportunity has now ended, and the questions by other countries as well as answers given by the Iranian probe team will be made public,” he said.

He urged the Canadian government to behave professionally instead of kicking up a fuss for nothing and present any viewpoints it may have in the form of specialized reports.

CBC claims that the individual is heard saying the truth will never be revealed by the highest levels of Iran’s government and military.

“There are reasons that they will never be revealed,” he says in Persian. “They won’t tell us, nor anyone else, because if they do it will open some doors into the defence systems of the country that will not be in the interest of the nation to publicly say.”

On Jan. 8, 2020, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in the skies over Tehran with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people aboard.

CBC News says it has listened to the recording of the private conversation, which took place in the months immediately following the destruction of Flight PS752.

World Beholden to Iran for Defeat of Trump: Rouhani

IFP Editorial Staff

February 10, 2021

In a speech marking the 42nd anniversary of the revolution of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, President Hassan Rouhani said the people of the world are beholden to the Iranian nation for defeating Trump.

“As we emerged victorious during the eight-year [Iraqi-] imposed war, we win this three-year economic war, too,” he said.

“God bestowed triumph upon us whenever we stood together and joined hands,” he said.

“The era of maximum sanctions and economic war has come to an end,” he noted.

Elsewhere in his remarks, President Rouhani praised his administration’s performance over its two terms in office over the past eight years.

He said society was hit by stagflation when his administration took office eight years ago.

“Inflation hovered around 40 percent and economic growth stood at minus 7.6 percent,” he said.

“The government elected by the people managed to put Economic Resilience on the right path on the back of guidelines by the Supreme Leader,” he said.

President Rouhani reiterated that numerous development projects were inaugurated during the tenure of his administration, thousands more villages were connected to the national gas grid and economy grew considerably.

Iran’s Top Judge, Iraqi PM Discuss Bilateral Ties

IFP Editorial Staff

February 10, 2021

In the Tuesday meeting, the two sides discussed Tehran-Baghdad relations and ways of enhancing them.

The top Iranian official also reminded the Iraqi premier of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s support for the Iraqi government and people.

Al-Kadhimi, in turn, stressed the importance of boosting mutual cooperation in line with cementing regional security and stability.

Iranians Emerged Victorious against Armed-to-the-Teeth Enemy: Zarif

IFP Editorial Staff

February 10, 2021

Zarif made the remarks during a speech in a ceremony where foreign ambassadors to Tehran met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the eve of the anniversary of the triumph of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran.

“Last year was a tumultuous year for all of us, and the COVID-19 pandemic challenged us all and proved international solidarity to counter this global crisis and common problem,” Foreign Minister Zarif said in the Tuesday ceremony.

“Last year, the whole world came together to tackle a common problem, except a wicked regime which tried to take advantage of this common problem to advance its interests with the pious hope that it will be able to put so much pressure on Iranians that we would not be here to hold this ceremony today,” he added.

“Today, we are seeing that Iranian people stood up to Trump’s economic terrorism and economic war, and are now standing with pride in front of history and the world,” he added.

“Those who launched wars against this nation, waged a war against their own nation, too, at the end of the day before they were thrown into the dustbin of history,” said the foreign minister.

“This may be the best lesson for the generations to come. People who stood up to war and pressure, emerged victorious against an armed-to-the-teeth regime without any foreign support or any other assistance, and resisted economic terrorism, should be addressed only with dignity and respect,” Zarif underlined.

“This is a lesson for the new US administration and all countries, so that they know how they should treat these great people,” he said.

Zarif said Iranians suffered, but never gave in to threats and pressure.

“Iranian people respond to respect with respect, and they will also respond to threats and pressure accordingly,” he noted.

“Anyone who has threatened Iranian people has been thrown into the dustbin of history, and these people still stand,” the top diplomat said.

Iran Ready for Dialogue with All Regional Countries: Rouhani

IFP Editorial Staff

February 9, 2021

“Iran is ready to talk with all countries in the region and its neighbours, especially the Persian Gulf littoral countries, from Iraq to the six southern countries in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 598, and settle regional problems and issues,” President Rouhani said on Tuesday.

Speaking in a meeting with ambassadors of foreign countries on the eve of the 42nd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, President Rouhani said regional problems must be resolved by regional countries.

He further noted that Iran wants friendship with all countries whose will is friendship with the Iranian nation.

“Our region is very sensitive and influential in the world. We believe that the sensitive region of the Middle East must enjoy security, peace and stability. During these 42 years, we have been asked for help everywhere in the region, especially by our neighbours,” the president noted.

“Wherever terrorism was observed in our region, we rushed to the help of the nation that was attacked by terrorists. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan are witnesses to this,” he added.

President Rouhani then criticized the West’s support for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, and said, “Why did major powers, the United States and the European countries, donate money and weapons to a country that is conducting an act of aggression against the oppressed people of Yemen, and many of these countries continue their assistance today? Who is responsible for all the killings, famine and crimes in Yemen?”

“Who gave this region to the terrorists for years? Our nation must not be held accountable for all the incidents we witnessed in the region, because it has always been a defender of the right alongside the nations and the governments that asked us for help, and we have always fought terrorism,” said Rouhani.

President Rouhani said the Iranian nation is a victim of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons.

“Martyr Qassem Soleimani was the one who went to the aid of Iraq … from the first day and fought the terrorists, and in Iraq his friend was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. These loved ones were assassinated by the United States at the explicit order of Trump. Who should be held responsible for this assassination?”

“The courts of Iran and Iraq and the international courts should not remain silent in the face of this crime and should do their best against these criminals,” he added.

‘Iran Not to Take First Step on JCPOA’

President Rouhani further referred to the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the European countries’ failure to meet their obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as the reason for Iran’s decision to reduce its commitments.

He stressed that Iran is ready to fulfill all its obligations on the day the United States returns to its full obligations. “Today no one should expect Iran to take the first step.”

“I think there is no doubt about who should be the initiator. We are not out of commitment to take the first step. The country that has withdrawn from its commitments for three years in violation of international law and its obligations under the Resolution 2231 is obliged to take the first step.”

The president emphasised that as soon as the P5+1 members fulfill all their obligations, they should know that we will fulfill our obligations the next hour.

“Iran has proved that if it signs and accepts something, it will stick to its signature, commitment and agreement with all its heart, and this is one of the great honours of our nation.”

President Rouhani said that over time, since 2015, Iran has complied with all its commitments within the framework of the JCPOA, adding, “This has been confirmed 15 times by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”

Rouhani added, “Even in 2017, when the then US government was speaking about withdrawing from the agreement, and finally in 2018 when it withdrew from it and imposed sanctions against Iran, we waited a year and fulfilled all our obligations in that period of time.”

“The P4+1 had promised to fulfill their obligations despite the withdrawal of the United States from the deal, but they did not do this, and after a year of unilateral implementation of the commitments, we began to reduce the commitments step by step, and for each stage we gave the P4+1 two months to fulfill their obligations.”

Rouhani pointed to former US President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure policy against Iran, and said, “The one who imposed the first war on our nation today has no name and address and has nothing but shame and disgrace, and Trump who imposed the economic war on our nation has nothing but shame and disgrace left of him today.”

“The past year has been difficult for all nations of the world due to the outbreak of coronavirus and COVID-19, but it has been more difficult for our nation because all nations were provided the necessary medical equipment, food, medicine and vaccines to use, they had access to their money, except for Iran, whose financial resources could not be accessed because of the oppressive, illegal US sanctions.”

“COVID-19 was a great test for humanity, cooperation and helping each other around the world, and the Trump administration failed in it,” he said.

Rouhani added, “To date, the new US administration has not taken appropriate actions, at least in relation to the Iranian nation and government, on the issue of Coronavirus.”

The President emphasised, “Barekat, Razi and Pasteur, three major Iranian institutes in the field of COVID-19 vaccine production, have received clinical trial licences.”

In the coming months, our people will use the domestically-produced vaccine,” the President said, adding that “We believe we should all stand together on important human and global issues.”

The President further referred to the 42nd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and said, “February 11th is a very important and historic day for us and a day when the Iranian nation was able to achieve victory with unity, solidarity and sacrifice against a regime armed to the teeth and fully supported by the United States and some other major countries.”

Rouhani emphasised, “This day is happy for us because of independence and happy for the world because Iran began to have democracy, republic and Islam within the framework of its culture.”

The President added, “Since 42 years ago until today, the Islamic Republic has called for peace, stability, negotiation and achieving friendship with different countries, although in these 42 years two wars were imposed on us. One war by Saddam and one war by Trump, but we resisted both aggressions with resistance and patience, and we won both wars.”