Western nations ready to lift sanctions on Iran, claims Iranian President

Tehran : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has claimed that ‘Western countries are ready to lift all major sanctions imposed on Iran. They have agreed to it in the talks in Vienna, and Iran will soon have its way in this matter.’ The Biden administration, which participated in the meeting in Vienna, did not respond to Iran’s claims. President Rouhani announced that ‘All countries that participated in the meeting in Vienna have agreed to lift all sanctions imposed on Iran’s oil, petrochemicals, shipping, banking and other sectors. The issues have been discussed in detail, and some crucial steps have been taken. Some issues are being discussed before the final agreement is made.’

The Iranian President said, ‘Iran attended the meeting with the aim to persuade the enemy to accept its mistakes. The new US administration has acknowledged that it was wrong to pressurise the Iranian people and government with sanctions. The US administration has accepted its defeat.’ But Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the talks in Vienna, said otherwise.

‘In the last two weeks, considerable progress has been made in the meeting between Iran and the western countries in Vienna. However, a decision on some key issues is still pending,’ Araghchi clarified. Also, Araghchi demanded, ‘The United States to lift its unilateral sanctions on Iran and then the United Nations Security Council must take a similar stand on the sanctions they have imposed.’ For that, I will be leaving for Vienna again next week, Araghchi said.

Iran and Western nations have been meeting in Vienna for the past month and a half to discuss the nuclear deal. The Biden administration is trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. There have been reports that say the Biden administration is preparing to ease the sanctions on Iran. Nevertheless, before easing sanctions, the United States had demanded that Iran restore its nuclear program as per the terms of the 2015 agreement. Iran rejected the US demands and said it would not join the nuclear deal unless its terms are met.

Meanwhile, leading US analysts claimed just four days ago that Iran had acquired the technology to make atomic bombs in 2003. Earlier this month, Israel’s intelligence chief, Yossi Cohen, met with US President Biden and provided evidence against Iran being close to building a nuclear bomb. Some senior leaders in the US Senate are also urging the Biden administration not to make the mistake of showing leniency against Iran.

In such a scenario, President Rouhani‘s announcement that the United States has lifted all sanctions on Iran is noteworthy. Opposition groups in the US could likely protest against this decision. The Biden administration appears to be preparing to lift sanctions on Iran by also risking to offend Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.