Britain, China, France, Russia, and Germany have highlighted the significance of working on the removal of sanctions and the verification of termination of sanctions.
Lifting sanctions should be a priority on the agenda of the ongoing talks over Iran's nuclear program since the Western parties have concluded that psychological operations against Iran are no longer viable, said Mohammad Qaderi, an Iranian international affairs expert.
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Negotiators from Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reconvened on Monday in Austria's capital Vienna in an attempt to salvage the accord which has been in great jeopardy since the former U.S. government withdrew Washington from it in 2018.
Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed their seriousness about restoration of the deal but also urged the removal of the sanctions reimposed by the U.S. after its exit from the JCPOA, and guarantees that the next U.S. governments would never breach their possible commitments in the renewed deal.
Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's top negotiator in the Vienna talks, said on Monday that the participants in the current round of negotiations have agreed that priority should be given to the removal of sanctions. The representatives of Britain, China, France, Russia, and Germany (the "P4+1 countries") highlighted the significance of working on the subjects such as the removal of sanctions on Iran, the verification of termination of sanctions, and giving Iran assurances.
#OnThisDay, 2002, US officials said that #SaudiArabia had privately assured the US, it could launch air support missions from Saudi bases in order to attack Middle East countries. #OTD #Iraq #Iran pic.twitter.com/5f3w9EfoFQ
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"Given the modification of the text of the (earlier) drafts by Iran, it seems that... reaching an agreement is possible, and the general atmosphere of this round of negotiations is very positive," said Qaderi said, adding that the P4+1 have emphasized that the U.S. should not impose new sanctions on Iran during the negotiations because it would disrupt the negotiation process.
"Sanctions should not be used for threatening casually and new sanctions should not be introduced against Iran during the negotiations," Wang Qun, the Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said on Monday.
Despite different interpretations of the seventh round of negotiations, China, like most of the participants, believes that the negotiations have achieved positive results. Since early April, representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran have held seven rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital, with the United States involved indirectly.
Israel attacks Latakia port in Syria with missiles. pic.twitter.com/1z9OppG57P
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