Lifting Sanctions On Iran Would Open Door For Deal, Raisi Says

The removal of the sanctions against Iran will pave the way for a final deal in the talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday.

“Lifting the cruel sanctions against Iran will prepare the ground for an agreement and cooperation,” the Iranian president said in a meeting with Lithuania’s new ambassador to Tehran, referring to the talks for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.

He also lashed out at the US and the European states for their brazen action to initiate an anti-Iranian resolution at the UN nuclear agency’s Board of Governors in the course of negotiations for reviving the JCPOA, saying their move was in contradiction to the requirements for talks and agreements.

“As confirmed by all observers, the Islamic Republic of Iran has honored its commitments under the deal (JCPOA), but the US, in turn, has pulled out of this agreement and the European states have also failed to honor their commitments,” the Iranian president added.

He also highlighted the ample and diverse capacities for the enhancement of relations and economic cooperation between Iran and Lithuania.

For his part, Lithuania’s Ambassador Ricardas Degutis called for the promotion of Iran’s economic and trade cooperation with the EU members, including his own country.

The meeting came a few days after Iran and the US concluded two days of indirect talks, mediated by the European Union, in the Qatari capital of Doha, in an attempt to break the stalemate in reviving the JCPOA.

At the end of the talks, Iran and the EU said they would keep in touch “about the continuation of the route and the next stage of the talks.”

The talks in Doha follow seven rounds of fruitless negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April last year.