France denies any timetable set for lifting Iran sanctions

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (© AFP)

The French foreign minister says no special timetable has been agreed with Iran on lifting the sanctions imposed on the country as part of an understanding reached between Tehran and world powers on Iran’s nuclear program.

Laurent Fabius said Friday that the mutual understanding reached in the Swiss city of Lausanne a day earlier contained no agreement on the precise schedule for lifting the sanctions on Iran.

Iran and P5+1 group of countries - Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany - along with officials from the European Union reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program after eight days of marathon talks in Lausanne.

"The Iranians want sanctions to be lifted immediately…We say to them: we will ease the sanctions as you respect what you have agreed to,” Fabius told Europe 1 radio station, emphasizing, however, “On this point, there is not yet a deal.”

According to the joint statement, which is the basis for a final deal, the two sides have envisaged a mechanism for lifting sanctions after the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is reached by the end of June.

The joint statement read by Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Persian late Thursday stipulated that the parties to the JCPOA will, after the adoption of the Security Council resolution, need a period of preparation time to implement the JCPOA. Once the preparation period is over, and simultaneous with the start of the implementation of nuclear measures by Iran on a designated date, the lifting of “all sanctions” will automatically go into action.

Fabius, whose government has adopted a harsh stance toward Iran's nuclear program, also cautioned Tehran that sanctions could be re-imposed if Iran violates its obligations.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (C) walks with others during a break in a meeting with world powers representatives seeking to pin down a nuclear deal with Iran at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel, on March 31, 2015 in Lausanne. (© AFP)

 

“…If you don't live up to your commitments, of course we can return to the situation we had before,” he said.

The joint statement also reiterated that within the framework of the solutions reached, the necessary mechanism has been envisaged for the mutual reversibility of the commitments included in the JCPOA in case of a failure to meet obligations by each party.

Fabius, however, branded the framework agreement reached between Iran and P5+1 as “historic.”

MS/HMV


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