Iran FM says US seeks to impose new conditions for lifting sanctions

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday that the US is seeking to impose new conditions for lifting anti-Iran sanctions, official news agency IRNA reported.

“In the past two or three weeks, the American side has made excessive demands that contradict some paragraphs of the text prepared for a possible agreement in the recent Vienna talks,” Amir-Abdollahian said, adding the US wants to propose and impose new conditions outside the negotiating framework in exchange for the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions.

“If the US government has good intentions, it should take practical and concrete steps in the negotiations, such as releasing some of Iran’s frozen assets or lifting sanctions,” the Iranian top diplomat was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Iran will continue the path of diplomacy to reach a dignified, lasting and good agreement, he said, adding “Iran stands and will stand on its red lines.”

Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting Iran to drop some of its nuclear commitments under the agreement in retaliation.

Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, to revive the 2015 deal.

Iran insists on securing guarantees that the succeeding US governments would not abandon the deal again and having the sanctions lifted in a verifiable manner.