Iran’s Khamenei Blames ‘Stubborn’ US for Stalled Nuclear Talks, Says ‘Trusting West Does Not Work'
14:11 GMT 28.07.2021 (Updated: 19:12 GMT 03.11.2022)
© REUTERS / OFFICIAL KHAMENEI WEBSITE
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Iran and the US have been holding indirect talks in Vienna since April, negotiating a return to the 2015 Iran Nuclear deal. Earlier this month, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said stalled negotiations will not resume until President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes office as president on 5 August.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced the “obstinate stance” of American negotiators as he weighed in on the stalled Vienna talks on a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
According to Khamenei, Washington has conditioned its return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), torpedoed by ex-President Donald Trump in 2018, on including "a sentence ... that (says) some issues be talked about in the future, or we will have no agreement".
"With that sentence, they want to have an excuse for their next meddlings with the (deal) itself -- missiles and regional issues. If Iran refuses to discuss them, they will say that you have violated the agreement and the agreement is over," his official website quoted him as saying.
‘Trusting the West Does Not Work’
Khamenei was meeting met with outgoing President Hassan Rouhani and the members of the 12th Cabinet on Wednesday. Iran's supreme leader also underscored that the United States had failed to guarantee that it would never abandon the pact again.
"The Americans acted completely cowardly and maliciously. They once violated the nuclear deal at no cost by exiting it. Now they explicitly say that they cannot give guarantees that it would not happen again," state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
The 2015 nuclear deal with major powers was seen as a signature diplomatic achievement of Rouhani.
Signed by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union, it stipulated the removal of international sanctions from Tehran in exchange for it scaling down its nuclear programme.
Signed by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union, it stipulated the removal of international sanctions from Tehran in exchange for it scaling down its nuclear programme.
In this image made from April 17, 2021, video released by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, state-run TV, various centrifuge machines line the hall damaged on Sunday, April 11, 2021, at the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility, some 200 miles (322 km) south of the capital Tehran, Iran
© AP Photo / IRIB
Iran has always maintained that it is not working toward nuclear weapons, and its atomic programme has ‘always been peaceful and will remain peaceful’.
However, in 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded by gradually abandoning its own commitments toward complete withdrawal until sanctions are lifted.
"Future generations should use this experience. It was made clear during this government that trusting the West does not work," said Khamenei, adding that "Westerners do not help us, they hit wherever they can.”
Stalled Talks
Rouhani's government has been engaged in talks with major powers since April on bringing Washington back into the agreement. The sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington adjourned on June 20, two days after Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of the Islamic Republic. According to Iranian and Western officials, significant gaps remain before the deal can be reinstated.
Parties involved in the negotiations suggest talks will not resume until President-elect Raisi takes office as president on August 5.
European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora and Iranian Deputy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi wait for the start of talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in Vienna, Austria June 20, 2021
© REUTERS / EU Delegation in Vienna
Trump's successor Joe Biden, who had signalled his readiness to return to the nuclear deal since his election, has engaged in indirect negotiations with Tehran alongside formal talks with the agreement's remaining parties.
Rouhani's successor Raisi has expressed support for the nuclear talks if they "guarantee national interests" in his first news conference since winning election.
“Any negotiations that guarantee national interests will certainly be supported, but...we will not allow negotiations to be for negotiations’ sake… Any meeting must produce a result...for the Iranian nation,” said Raisi.
