Tehran, SAEDNEWS: "If we were to cross the red lines, an agreement would have been reached several months ago,” Khatibzadeh told reporters in his weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday.
"What is important for us is that the Iranian people must benefit from the lifting of sanctions."
"We do not know whether we will reach an agreement or not. Because the United States has not yet shown the will to reach an agreement," he added.
Asked about the US officials' statements over the removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s name from the sanctions list, Khatibzadeh said that all the components of the maximum pressure policy must be removed and there are more than one issue between Iran and the US in negotiations.
Iran and Europe have reached final steps in Vienna talks, the diplomat said, adding, "There is no issue left between Iran and the G4+1 and the European Union, and all the parties are waiting for Washington's decisions."
Khatibzadeh went on to say that the JCPOA and the Vienna talks are only to ensure a guaranteed return of the US to its undertakings under the nuclear deal, and the US should know that it cannot pursue its excessive demands through the deal.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said the US should remove all illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic in a verifiable manner and guarantee that a new US administration would not breach the JCPOA once again.
Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.
In May 2019, following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of non-compliance by the other side.
The Biden administration says it is willing to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.
Last month, the talks in Vienna, aimed at resurrecting the JCPOA, were paused for an undetermined period of time but later reports suggested that they were in final stages.
In relevant remarks last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian criticized Washington for raising excessive demands from Tehran and blocking efforts to reach an agreement in Vienna talks.
"The American side has raised excessive demands in the last two or three weeks. Although much of the text has been agreed upon, the US makes suggestions that contradict some parts of the text. They are sometimes interested in unilaterally raising and imposing new conditions outside the framework of the negotiations that have taken place in the field of lifting sanctions," Amir Abdollahian said.
Iran will not cross its red lines, he said, adding that if Iran's red lines are observed, a good agreement will be reached. "We will continue to pursue a dignified, good, strong and lasting diplomatic path to reach an agreement that lifts sanctions," Amir Abdollahian underlined.
He also said that Iran and Russia agreed that Moscow will not hinder reaching an agreement in Vienna talks.
"West told us that since the start of the Ukraine war, the situation is that even if we reach an agreement [in Vienna], Russia will not go along with the agreement. During the telephone conversation we had with Mr. Lavrov and during my visit to Moscow, we had very clear and transparent talks. Our agreement with the Russian side was that if our red lines were fully observed and we reached an agreement in the Vienna talks on lifting the sanctions at any time, Russia would not be an obstacle in the way of reaching an agreement."
"We certainly want the sanctions to be lifted, but with dignity and stability," Amir Abdollahian said, adding that however, President Rayeesi has always emphasized to all cabinet members in meetings that the focus should not be on Vienna, but that all institutions should act to neutralize sanctions and to promote the sustainable development of the economy and trade in the country.
"It was necessary to pause the negotiations because we came very close to a conclusion with the three European countries on technical issues," the foreign minister said, referring to the Vienna talks (Source: FARSNEWS).
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