Iran Will Never Give In To US’ Excessive Demands on JCPOA Revival - FM

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the current stalemate in the negotiations held to revive the 2015 deal is due to excessive demands put forth by the United States, saying Tehran will never give in to such demands.

“If there is a pause in the course of the Vienna talks, it’s due to the American side’s excessive demands,” Amir Abdollahian said in a post on his Twitter account on Monday.

He emphasized that Iran's Foreign Ministry acts "with power and logic" to secure the highest interests of the Iranian nation while observing the country's red lines.

Amir Abdollahian said Iran and the P4+1 group of countries can reach a final agreement in Vienna "if the White House behaves realistically."

Negotiations have been held in the Austrian capital since last April to restore the accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], which was ditched by former US President Donald Trump in May 2018.

In quitting the agreement, Trump introduced what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign to bring Iran to its knees. Tehran maintains that the policy has failed dismally. The Joe Biden administration agrees, yet it has not taken any tangible steps to deliver on its promise of repealing the policy.

In recent months, Iran has cited Washington’s indecisiveness as the reason behind the protraction of the talks, as a number of key issues remain unresolved, ranging from the removal of all post-JCPOA sanctions to the provision of guarantees by the American side that it will not leave the deal again.

The other parties to the talks – Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany – have also noted that the negotiators are close to finalizing an agreement.

Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the United States for a halt in the Vienna negotiations, saying American officials need to make a necessary political decision as soon as possible if they want to reach an agreement.

“All of us should not forget that what we are facing today is not an administration that wants to perform its duties, but rather, one that seeks to exploit legal means in order not to honor its obligations,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Monday.

Khatibzadeh further said the Vienna talks have come to a grinding halt because of such an American approach.

“The United States is trying to hold the remaining issues hostage to its internal affairs. We will not wait forever … The United States must make a political decision,” he said.