Iran-P5+1 agreement seeks removal of sanctions, not suspension: Rouhani

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says a recent agreement reached with the P5+1 group on Iran's nuclear program seeks removal of all anti-Iran sanctions, not their suspension.

“We have never negotiated the suspension of sanctions and if it were the case, there would be no agreement,” Rouhani said in a meeting with a group of senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Sunday.

He added that both Iran and six world powers are seriously determined to reach a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, stressing that the world has no option but to reach an agreement with the Islamic Republic.

“The world knows that there is no way but to [reach] agreement and understanding with Iran because the great, courageous and resistant Iranian people have stood by their ideals despite hardships,” Rouhani noted, stressing that the world has come to a realization that the Iranian nation will never “yield to pressure and sanctions.”

According to a landmark agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Switzerland on April 2, all previous resolutions of the UN Security Council against the country would be rescinded, he said.

The Iranian president emphasized that during the recent negotiations with the six global powers in Lausanne, Switzerland,Tehran insisted on the termination of all economic, banking and financial sanctions.

He criticized claims by certain countries about Iran’s intention to dominate the Middle East region if it achieves success in the nuclear negotiations, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought to invade any country…but we will defend ourselves against anybody who intends to encroach upon the people’s rights.”

Described the Lausanne talks as complicated, tough and unprecedented, Rouhani said the negotiating sides still face an uphill task despite good steps taken so far.

Iran and the P5+1 states – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany – issued a joint statement at the end of eight days of sensitive nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.

According to the statement, no Iranian nuclear facility will be shut down or suspended while all sanctions against the Islamic Republic will be terminated.

Iran and the six global powers will work to draw up a final accord by the end of the self-designated June 30 deadline.

According to the joint statement, Iran's Fordow nuclear facility will be turned into a research center for nuclear science and physics. It also said the heavy water reactor in the Iranian city of Arak will remain in place, but will be redesigned and updated. Iran will implement the Additional Protocol temporarily and voluntarily in line with its confidence-building measures and after that the protocol will be ratified within a time frame by the Iranian government and Parliament (Majlis).

SF/KA/SS

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