Sanction relief ambiguities must go: IRGC

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says ambiguities regarding the removal of sanctions from the Islamic Republic should be resolved.

Commenting on a recent understanding between Tehran and P5+1, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said, “Some solutions have been found and it seems the Islamic Republic’s principles and red lines, as far as technical issues go, have been accepted by the other side,” Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.

“However, there are still ambiguities regarding the manner of sanctions removal, which should be clarified,” he said, adding, it “could lead to disagreement too”.

After eight days of marathon talks in Lausanne, Iran and P5+1 – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – issued a joint statement on April 2 on their mutual understanding over Tehran’s nuclear program.

According to the joint statement, none of Iran’s nuclear facilities will be stopped, shut down or suspended and Iran’s nuclear activities in all its nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan, and Arak will continue. All sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US and the European Union against Iran will also be lifted.

Iran and the six countries are now expected to start work to draw up a final comprehensive deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by the end of the self-designated June 30 deadline.

On Tuesday, Jafari praised the Iranian negotiating team’s diplomatic efforts to defend Iran’s right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program in the talks with P5+1 in Switzerland.

He said Iran’s nuclear delegation had admirably defended the nation’s peaceful nuclear rights, adding that the Iranian people and the IRGC appreciated the country’s nuclear negotiators for making sincere political efforts while insisting on the Islamic Republic’s red lines.

Iran’s redlines in the talks with the world powers include the recognition of Iran’s right to possess a full nuclear enrichment cycle as well as research and development in this field besides the lifting of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran, Jafari added.

“Should the negotiating team move within the determined frameworks and the principles of the establishment up until the end, whatever outcome is resulted from negotiations is victory for the revolutionary nation of Iran,” the Iranian general said during his Saturday remarks.