Iran can meet Europe energy needs if unlawful sanctions lifted, FM Spokesman

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said that if JCPOA negotiations are successful and unilateral sanctions against the country are lifted, Iran can meet most of Europe's needs.

"The complete removal of sanctions imposed against the government and people of Iran is the main goal of the current negotiations between Iran and the signatories of the JCPOA. Various meetings have been held, and the last round was held in Vienna, and after that, the proposed text was given to the negotiating parties by the coordinator of the European Union," said Nasser Kan'ani in his weekly press conference on Monday in response to a question about the lifting of sanctions if an agreement is reached.

The talks to salvage the agreement kicked off in the Austrian capital city of Vienna in April last year, months after Joe Biden succeeded Trump, with the intention of examining Washington's seriousness in rejoining the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.

Despite notable progress, the US indecisiveness and procrastination caused multiple interruptions in the marathon talks. Four days of intense talks between representatives of Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA ended on August 8 with a modified text proposed by the EU on the table.

Iran submitted its response to the EU draft proposal on August 15, a week after the latest round of talks wrapped up which the bloc described as “reasonable". After submitting its response, Tehran urged Washington to show "realism and flexibility" in order to reach an agreement.

The United States, for its part, took several weeks to offer its response to Iran’s comments. On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said Tehran has offered its opinion on the US response to the EU draft text for the JCPAO revival.

"Iran offered its views and response in this regard to the EU coordinator and is waiting to receive the response of the other parties and specifically the response of the US government. Iran's recent response to the EU coordinator on JCPOA talks was constructive, transparent and legal. If the other side has the political will and acts constructively, it is possible to reach an agreement," he added.

Referring to the request of the Europeans to Iran to help solve the problem of the energy crisis, the spokesman said, "Naturally, the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most important countries supplying energy and fuel needed by different countries in the world due to its rich oil and gas resources. Based on its capabilities and capacities, Iran has maintained its presence in the energy market even under the shadow of the toughest sanctions."

"European countries are facing problems in providing the energy they need, and if the negotiations are successful and the unilateral sanctions against our country are lifted, Iran can meet a larger part of Europe's needs," he added.