US Must Guarantee Long-Term Agreements to Restore JCPOA, Iranian Foreign Minister Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - When restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Washington must provide guarantees that the agreements will be long term, without which a serious conversation is impossible, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

"The main goal of the Vienna talks should be the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA, as well as the normalization of trade relations and sustainable economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, in order to return to the JCPOA, Iran must fully become the beneficiary of the lifting of all sanctions. Iran, subject to the provision of guarantees, compensation for damage and effective and verifiable lifting of sanctions, is ready to stop its compensatory measures," the minister said in an article in Russian newspaper Kommersant.

The issue of guarantees for Tehran is extremely important, Abdollahian said.

"Iran does not consider it possible to seriously discuss the issue of the return of the United States to the JCPOA, if it is not provided with guarantees that the bitter experience of the past will not be repeated. Washington must guarantee the long-term nature of the agreements, otherwise Iran's economic partners cannot be sure that interaction with it will not be exposed to risks like 2018," he said.

Moreover, Amirabdollahian said with reference to the JCPOA that the US and the European "troika" must realize that the current window of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program will not be open forever.

"I would also like to note that the current window of negotiations will not be open forever. The United States and three European states must realize this. The Islamic Republic of Iran aims to continue active diplomatic efforts to lift illegal American sanctions, but at the same time it has effective tools to neutralize their effect and the Program for Sustainable Economic Development of the country," the minister emphasized.