TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut said when President Masudo Pezeshkian arrived in the United Nations General Assembly to accompany him at the United Nations General Assembly, he also submitted a proposal aimed at ensuring a negotiated settlement of notable issues with the West in the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA).
“We’ve always been prepared for discussion and diplomatic solutions,” said the top Iranian diplomat in an interview with CNN. “Last week I came to New York with a fair, balanced and constructive proposal so that we can resolve a diplomatic solution to this crisis, but the proposal was rejected by the US and European countries, and they chose an immediate recovery of sanctions (the so-called snapback mechanism).
The JCPOA has requested that Iran be reduced certain nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the US withdrew its contract in 2018 and reinstated previously lifted sanctions. After the US exit, European signatories failed to maintain their commitment and made little effort to maintain the agreement. Non-JCPOA sanctions against Iran were reimposed last week after the latest blow to the contract caused Europe to trigger a process to recover them.
In an interview with CNN, Araghchi highlighted Iran’s full attitude by the JCPOA, reducing Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal. “We didn’t want to own nuclear weapons, so we proved this in 2015 when we signed the JCPOA with members of the 5+1 group, including the US,” he said.
“We carried out the transaction in good faith and implemented all our commitments,” Araguchi added, “When the US withdraws from the agreement, there was no good reason as numerous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) emphasized that Iran was fully compliant with its obligations.”
“We had two bitter and unpleasant experiences in the US. We reached a deal, but they got out of it and held a meeting again this year, but they attacked us,” the Iranian Foreign Minister pointed out.
Araguchi also mentioned Washington’s military strike at an Iranian nuclear site that took place ahead of the sixth round of indirect negotiations scheduled for June. “The US attacked our nuclear facilities and (uranium) enrichment centers and destroyed them and damaged them, but this military operation failed to solve the problem as technology is available and it is being developed locally,” he emphasized.
“If you have concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, the solution should be a diplomatic program and we have always been prepared for negotiations and diplomatic resolution,” he said. Araghchi added that military actions did not help resolve the issue.
“They tried military options but failed to resolve the problem. Now they are acting through a snapback mechanism, not solving the problem, adding complexity and difficulties, and making diplomatic resolution even more difficult,” said Iran’s Foreign Minister.
Araguchi also denounced the UN for targeting Iran with sanctions while turning a blind eye to the Israeli regime massacre in Gaza.
“We have the right to enrich uranium. We have never violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and have always acted in accordance with international regulations.
Years of invalid diplomacy and the war in June have slowed some Iranian political factions from negotiating with the West on the nuclear issue. Recently, dozens of Iranian lawmakers have united in drafting a bill calling for the government to withdraw from the NPT. Some are also calling for changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine, but Ayatollah Seiyed Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, has yet to change the fatwa (religious order) issued several years ago that banned Iran from developing weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
However, the leader has ruled out new talks with the US as long as Washington has decided on the outcome of the negotiations in advance, made unacceptable demands, and continues to threaten Iran. “The discussion with the US under the current circumstances is nothing but deadlock,” Ayatollah Khamenei said at a televised address last week.