FM: Iran pursues ‘neutralizing’ and ‘removing’ U.S. sanctions ‎

IRNA
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic is continuing negotiations in Vienna to reach a “good”, “strong” and “lasting” nuclear agreement while observing the country’s red lines.

International Desk

Iran is pursuing both “neutralizing” and “removing” the U.S. sanctions, said the foreign minister. ‎

Making the remark in a Wednesday tweet, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian added the talks in Vienna for the revival of ‎a 2015 nuclear deal and removal of U.S. sanctions are continuing on their right track to achieve a “good”, “strong” and “lasting” agreement while observing Iran’s red lines.

He added that “immunizing” the country through bringing about an economic transformation and ensuring fair ‎distribution of government subsidies is a main strategy of the Iranian government. ‎

His tweet read: “Both paths of neutralizing and removing the sanctions are being pursued.

“Immunizing the country through the path of #economic _transformation and fair distribution of the ‎‎#subsidy payment system is a main strategy.

“Negotiations for the removal of the sanctions, by observing Iran’s red lines in reaching a good, strong and ‎lasting agreement, are being pursued in their right direction.”

Iran signed the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015, accepting to put some curbs on its nuclear ‎program in return for the removal of the sanctions on Tehran. However, former president Donald Trump ‎pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on ‎Tehran, prompting Iran, after a year of strategic patience, to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the agreement in retaliation.

Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the ‎remaining JCPOA parties to revive the deal.

Iran insists on obtaining guarantees that the succeeding U.S. governments would not drop the deal again ‎and calls for lifting the sanctions in a verifiable manner. ‎

The Iranian government under President Ebrahim Raeisi plans to stop subsidizing bread and ‎other basic consumer goods like medicine.

Under the plan, the government will stop offering heavily subsidized foreign exchange to ‎importers and suppliers of food, medicine and other staple goods.