Iran Requires Guarantee of No Sanctions After Changes in US Government, Iranian Ambassador Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - If the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is renewed, Iran will need a guarantee that sanctions will not return with changes to the US government, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said.

"We have a poor experience with the Western approach to the JCPOA: the Americans have changed government and they have violated their obligations under the JCPOA. Therefore, the people of Iran have a right to know about future guarantees so that sanctions will not be imposed again," Jalali said.

He went on to say that sanctions were essentially a form of oppression against the Iranian people, which is why such guarantees are necessary.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Germany, the US, France, the European Union, and Iran, imposing restrictions on the advancement of the Iran nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran. The Iranian government responded with a gradual retreat from JCPOA obligations.

Since April 2021, Vienna has been hosting talks to restore the deal. The seventh round of talks on bringing Iran back to the nuclear deal and lifting US sanctions ended on December 17. The parties agreed on two drafts of the deal, which included provisions covering Iranian interests.

The eighth round of the talks resumed on Tuesday in Vienna, but a meeting of the joint commission has not yet been held.