Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that it is impossible for Tehran to trust Washington after four years of relentless economic war against the Iranian people.
Vienna talks have shown that progress is possible
"The process in Vienna is on the right track, and the P4 + 1 has taken positive steps in the Vienna talks, and the Vienna talks have shown that progress is possible, said Khatbizadeh in an interview with CNN.
"The positive move created by the P4 + 1 in the Vienna talks can be sustained if the United States is ready to fulfil its obligations under Resolution 2231," he added.
Emphasizing the need for the Biden administration to distance itself from Trump's failed policies against Iran, the spokesman said, "It seems that members of the current US administration are much more committed to Trump-era sanctions [against Iran] than to the Obama nuclear deal."
"I think Biden has to make a political decision about whether he intends to jeopardize the nuclear deal with Trump's failed sanctions policy, or whether he wants to distance himself from those failed policies," Khatibzadeh noted.
Iran's position quite clear, all illegal US sanctions must be lifted
He went on to reiterate Iran's position on the JCPOA, "Iran has always had a clear position on the JCPOA. Serious negotiations took place between Iran and the P5 + 1 [to reach the JCPOA]. After the JCPOA was signed and sealed, we implemented this agreement and since then we have always made it clear that everyone must abide by their obligations. Iran, even after the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA, was in good faith and fully committed to its commitments."
"We have made it clear that all sanctions that have been illegally imposed on Iran, re-imposed and re-labeled must be lifted at once, and Iran must approve the lifting of sanctions," he highlighted. "This is a very clear position of Iran, and not only is it logical, but it is a workable path for the full return of the United States to its commitments."
Impossible for Iran to trust US after 4-years economic war
"The United States has broken the deal and it has to fix it. They know what to do to repair this agreement. After four years of relentless economic war by the United States against the Iranian people, it is impossible for Iran to trust the United States," the spokesman said.
Khatibzadeh then stressed that it is Biden's administration that must change Trump's wrong path toward Iran. "It's logically up to the Biden administration to show everyone that it intends to reverse the course that Trump has taken [against Iran]. Remember that after the signing of the JCPOA in 2015, Iran was the first party to implement the deal and the agency confirmed after several fact-finding missions in 2016 that the United States had lifted sanctions against Iran, which did not happen even under Obama. But this time, the United States has to show to everyone, not just on paper, that it intends to reverse Trump's course and that it intends to implement the JCPOA fully and faithfully."
"Iran has paved the way for maintaining the JCPOA, and the United States knows exactly what steps Iran has taken to preserve the deal. The United States has to first lift all sanctions [against Iran] verifiably, and Iran is ready, based on its own trials, to not only halt its remedial measures taken in response to US sanctions but to reverse them. All the measures taken by Iran is actually reversible," he stressed.
No need for direct talks with US
"There were no direct or indirect talks in Vienna or anywhere else between Iran and the United States because there is no need for new talks as we negotiated in full detail about the JCPOA," Khatibzadeh said regarding some speculations about the possibility of direct talks between Iran and the United States," Khatibzadeh noted.
"What the P4 + 1 and Iran are currently doing in the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission is to set out a complete list of sanctions that the United States should lift. The P4 + 1 has channels to talk to the United States to see what they are actually thinking. The United States should get that we can verify the fulfilment of its obligations. If the United States get back to the deal and on the JCPOA table, then the talks will continue. But until then, there would be no direct or indirect talks between the United States and Iran," he stressed.
Iran not to compromise on its national security issues
"No country on earth is willing to compromise on its national security issues, and the missile issue is a defense issue, and no one is willing to talk about it," the spokesman said.
"If our neighbors are willing to talk about the millions of dollars they spend on US military equipment coming to our region, and if the United States is ready to stop selling military equipment to the region, and if the other sides are ready to talk about those issues, it will be determined over time and we have to wait to see what happens," he added.
US, Israeli regime root of many of region's problems
"There are a lot of differences between us and the United States on regional issues," Khatibzade said regarding Iran's readiness to discuss regional issues, adding, "We have never been shy to say that the United States and the Israeli regime, side by side, are the root cause of many regional problems."
"If there was no aggression of the United States to our region, Afghanistan and Iraq, there would be no such permanent and endless war in this region," he noted.
