Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that “negotiations on saving the JCPOA and lifting the sanctions on Iran have entered the closing stages,” as reported by Iran’s state Tasnim news agency.
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is another name for the nuclear deal made with Iran in 2015 by former president Barack Obama. Obama’s successor Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Amirabdollahian, who was visiting the African archipelago of Zanzibar to meet with its President Hussein Ali Mwinyi, predicted a deal will be reached if the Biden administration “acts realistically.”
The foreign minister thanked Zanzibar for doing what it could to blunt the effect of U.S. sanctions and promised increased cooperation with Africa once the sanctions are gone, as well as increased oil and gas shipments from Iran.
“Iran is ready to share its technical and scientific expertise in various fields with Zanzibar, Amirabdollahian added, pointing to the Islamic Republic’s great capabilities in medicine, pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, medical education and fish farming,” Tasnim reported.
The foreign minister said Iran is “following two paths at the same time,” namely “making efforts to render the sanctions ineffective and bring about economic prosperity and development in the country without focusing on the JCPOA.”
“Yesterday, we received the response from the American side; we are reviewing and assessing the response,” he said.
Amirabdollahian insisted Iran is “very serious about the remaining safeguards issues” concerning its nuclear program. He dismissed “political and baseless accusations” from the “Zionist regime” in Israel.
The Israelis have been highly critical of President Joe Biden’s reckless drive to resuscitate the JCPOA. Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea on Thursday called the deal a “strategic disaster” and said Biden is “rushing into an accord that is ultimately based on lies.”
Among other troubling details, Barnea said the deal will give Iran “license to amass the required nuclear material for a bomb” in just a few years, while immediately unfreezing billions of dollars for use by the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism.
Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the Biden White House rejected a request from Prime Minister Yair Lapid for an emergency phone call with Biden to discuss the nuclear deal.
Amirabdollahian held a telephone conference with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Friday to discuss nuclear deal negotiations. According to Tasnim, al-Thani “expressed Qatar’s hope for reaching a fair agreement that takes into account the concerns of all parties, and said reaching such an agreement is beneficial to the security and stability of the region.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spent the day on Friday railing against the United States for launching airstrikes against Iran-linked militia in Syria.
“The U.S. has described the recent attacks by its aggressive army on Syria’s popular groups and anti-terrorism forces as ‘direct response to the attacks and ongoing threats against US forces’,” howled foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani.
“Fact: The presence of the occupying U.S. per se in Syria and its aggression against the defenders of Syria’s independence and territorial integrity is illegal and condemned,” he said, doing little to dispute reports from the American military that Iran’s proxies in Syria are attacking U.S. troops.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the American strikes were “proportional and deliberate” responses to rocket fire from militants in Syria.
“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we will continue to take the measures necessary to protect and defend our people,” CENTCOM stated.
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