Sheikh Attar referred to the British Foreign Secretary's position on lifting sanctions and Iran's return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); “Iran's resistance against the maximum pressure policy and our recent political ...
Sheikh Attar referred to the British Foreign Secretary's position on lifting sanctions and Iran's return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); “Iran's resistance against the maximum pressure policy and our recent political successes in SCO led the West to conclude that things should be changed.”
Radio Goftogoo's "Without Scrawl" program had a phone call interview with Dr. Alireza Sheikh Attar, a senior international affairs expert, about the lifting of sanctions in exchange for Iran's return to its nuclear commitments.
Alireza Sheikh Attar pointed out that the new British Foreign Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has only been in office for two days; “Some mention that the new British Foreign Secretary was not present in the P5 + 1 and the JCPOA talks, and that she raised this issue so that she may give a positive impression.
He continued; “Before being appointed as the British Foreign Secretary, she was the Minister of International Trade, and during all this time she has had all kinds of bilateral agreements with different countries. So one analysis is that as a politician interested in improving Britain's business, Elizabeth Truss doesn’t agree with sanctions.”
Explaining about another argument on the British Foreign Secretary's position, the senior international affairs expert said; “The UK’s policies are not made overnight, and those are not to be easily overturned by the British Foreign Secretary's crude stance.”
He stressed that the issue of lifting sanctions and Iran's return to the JCPOA isn’t a new topic; “Since the US unilaterally left the agreement, Iranian authorities have always demanded the lift of sanctions imposed after the JCPOA cancellation, and that the Americans claims should be accordingly tested, and then Iran will return to the JCPOA.
Over this phone call interview with Radio Goftogoo, Sheikh Attar referred to the Western officials' claims that sanctions would be lifted if Iran returns to the JCPOA; “These officials also spoke about the JCPOA+, a plan which covers the missile and regional issues. I don’t think that the British Foreign Secretary doesn’t know about the political obstacles existing on the way of returning to the JCPOA.”
He added; “There are two possibilities regarding her position: Either the British Foreign Secretary said this out of ignorance, or that Iran's resistance against the maximum pressure policy and our recent political success in SCO membership led the West to conclude that the situation should change.”
Sheikh Attar then quoted Dennis Ross, the American political advisor and the director of State Department in different American governments; “Iran's join to the SCO will make it more resilient to the sanctions.”
He continued; “So there is concern in the West that Iran will bypass the sanctions, and that Britain, which understands the politics better, may intend to resolve the negotiations stalemate.”
By Zahra Judaki
