JCPOA revival possible if US removes anti-Iran sanctions: President Raeisi

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi says it will be possible to revive the 2015 agreement if the United States removes its oppressive sanctions against Iran.

The president made the comments in an address to the nation during a live television interview on Tuesday.

The US must “first remove the sanctions that they have imposed on the Iranian nation and then speak of negotiations,” said Raeisi. “Iran will, in turn, consider direct negotiations after the sanctions are removed.”

President Raeisi said the removal of US sanctions could lead to the agreement’s revival. “If the other party removes the sanctions, there will be possibility to revive the pact.”

The eighth round of the Vienna talks began on December 27 with a focus on the removal of all sanctions that the United States had imposed on Iran after its unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015.

The US is not allowed to directly attend the talks due to its pullout in 2018 from the deal with Iran.

During the new round of talks, Iran has rejected the notion of setting timelines for achieving an agreement, with its representatives noting that they prefer to clinch a logical accord within a logical period of time. Iran has also made its agreement to a new accord conditional on the realization of the Iranian nation's rights and interests.

As a result, the Iranian negotiating team has said time and again that achieving an interim deal is out of the question as Tehran seeks a sustainable, reliable and definitive agreement on the removal of sanctions imposed on the country.

The Islamic Republic has also rejected the pessimistic assessment of the talks by the US and the European trio – namely France, Britain, and Germany – as a psychological ploy to win concessions.

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