Iran Never Left Negotiating Table, Always Ready to Struck Deal on JCPOA - Spokesman

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has never left the negotiation table and has shown seriousness to reach a conclusion on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Kanaani said Iran has never abandoned diplomatic efforts to remove the cruel sanctions that were slapped on the country after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

“Iran’s government has never left the negotiation table and has shown its readiness to conduct serious and substantive negotiations in order to reach a the spokesman added.

The remarks came a day after Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said there is nothing wrong with reaching a deal if Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remains untouched.

Imam Khamenei, however, made clear that Iran does not trust the West, which has “reneged on its promises many times and has proven to be untrustworthy.”

Like the Leader, Kanaani also noted that Iran will continue to rely primarily on trying to neutralize sanctions and at the same time pursue negotiations to have them removed altogether.

“We have clear, principled views about the JCPOA and nuclear negotiations,” the spokesman noted.

“While Iran has put the policy of neutralizing sanctions at the top of its agenda by relying on its internal capacities and expanding its relations with neighbors and friendly countries, it has never stopped the diplomatic processes with the aim of removing the cruel sanctions,” he added.

Multilateral diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA have been stalled since last August, with Iran blaming the United States for failing to guarantee that it will not leave the deal again.

The US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 under former US president Donald Trump, who, in ditching the deal, began to impose “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran.