US ban on accords & sanctions on oil would be lifted, says Iran citing nuclear deal talks

Iran’s chief negotiator who took part in talks on the nuclear deal on May 1, said on Saturday that Tehran expects the American sanctions on oil, banks, other officials, and institutions to be lifted on the agreements so far in the negotiations, as reported by Iranian state media. However, on the other hand, the United States has downplayed the prospect of an imminent breakthrough for both nations to rejoin the pact. Meanwhile, Russia and other Western European nations gave contrasting accounts of the task ahead in the talks to bring Iran and the US entirely back into compliance with the 2015 Nuclear Deal.

As quoted by state media, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on May 1 said, “Sanctions ... on Iran's energy sector, which include oil and gas, or those on the automotive industry, financial, banking and port sanctions, all should be lifted based on agreements reached so far.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, however, did not mention under which mechanism sanctions would be lifted or refer to how the Ismalic Republic would meet with America’s demands in order to recommit to the deal. Araqchi said, “We will negotiate until the two sides' positions come closer and our demands are met...If they are met there will be an agreement, if not there will naturally be no agreement."

Iran: Talks reached 'maturity'

Even though the United States had no immediate comments on the reports of progress, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi who participated in Vienna talks told the Iranian state media that discussions “have reached maturity.”

“I can say that now our discussions have reached a maturity, both in the disputed topics and in the sections that we are agreed on,” he told Iranian state TV. “Although we cannot yet fully predict when and how we will be able to reach an agreement, it is moving forward, although slowly.”

As per the Associated Press report, the Western European countries who took part in the talks struck a more restrained note. The media publication quoted senior diplomats saying on the condition of anonymity that, “We have much work and little time left. Against that background, we would have hoped for more progress this week...We have yet to come to an understanding of the most critical points. Success is by no means guaranteed, but not impossible.”

Image credits: AP