TEHRAN, Feb 20 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran urged, again, the United States, to “unconditionally and effectively” lift its sanctions against Iran, in response to the U.S. stated willingness to “attend a meeting of the P5+1.”
“Reminder: Because of U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA, there is NO P5+1,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said.
The P5+1 countries (China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, plus Germany) negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on Iranian nuclear programme in 2015, before the U.S., under former U.S. President Trump, withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
There is currently “only Iran and P4+1,” Khatibzadeh noted.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and his counterparts from Britain, Germany and France, discussed the Iranian nuclear issue and called on Tehran not to limit inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also restated Iran’s demand for the U.S. compliance with Resolution 2231 by “unconditionally and effectively lifting all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labelled by Trump.”
“The U.S. acknowledged that (former U.S. Secretary of State) Pompeo’s claims, regarding Resolution 2231 had no legal validity. We agree,” Zarif said, in a message posted published on the ministry’s official website.
The UN Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, including the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
Once sanctions are lifted, Iran will “immediately reverse all remedial measures,” the Iranian top diplomat noted. Remedial measures refer to the measures Iran had taken, to scale back its compliance with JCPOA.
Iran has officially announced the halt of its implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol.– NNN-IRNA
