Verification of US sanctions removal means Iran should be able to sell its oil
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said any US claim to having removed Iran’s sanctions must be verified by Tehran and this means that the Islamic Republic should be able to sell its oil under normal conditions and receive its money.
The Leader’s remarks came in a post on his Instagram page on Thursday as the negotiating team is in the Austrian capital city of Vienna to discuss conditions for the revival of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with other signatories to the deal.
“Verification [of US sanctions removal] means [being capable of] selling oil in an official manner, with ease and under normal conditions, and its money be received by Iran,” the Leader added.
In a video published on the Leader’s Instagram account, Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that Tehran is in no hurry for Washington to come back to the nuclear agreement.
The Leader added that the signatories of the nuclear agreement failed to abide by their commitments under the deal, noting that the decision by the Iranian government and parliament to rollback Tehran’s nuclear commitments was right.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that commitment on one side should be reciprocated by commitment on the other side and the US must remove all sanctions if the West wants Iran to return to JCPOA compliance.
The Leader said Tehran will return to full compliance with the nuclear deal once it verifies sanctions have been really removed by the US.
Ayatollah Khamenei said other signatories to the deal have no right to set conditions for Tehran as long as they have not fulfilled their obligations, emphasizing that this is Iran’s definitive policy from which Tehran will not step back.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, who leads the country’s negotiating team in Vienna, said the US has to remove all unilateral and illegal sanctions it has imposed on Iran in one step before expecting the Islamic Republic to resume full compliance with the JCPOA.
Abbas Araqchi made the remarks during an interview with Press TV in Vienna on Thursday after a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, saying, “The US must lift anti-Iran sanctions [and only] then Tehran would resume compliance with [the] JCPOA.”