US to face another defeat if it misses diplomatic chance in Vienna: Iran's security chief

Iran’s top security official says if the negotiations in Vienna fail to produce a “good deal” on the revival of the 2015 Iran agreement, the US will suffer yet another defeat after the failure of its so-called maximum pressure policy against the Islamic Republic.

In a post on his official Twitter account on Thursday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said the Iranian nation’s strategy of “active resistance” defeated the maximum pressure policy pursued by former US president Donald Trump, as acknowledged by the current US administration.

“If #ViennaTalks do not lead to a good deal, current US administration will feel defeated in near future due to lack of timely use of diplomatic opportunities,” Shamkhani said, as the negotiations between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries on the revival of the 2015 Iran agreement have reached a critical phase.

Back in 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed the sanctions that were lifted under the accord while piling on new ones. He said he was adopting a “maximum pressure” policy to force Tehran to negotiate a new deal.

The Vienna talks began last April between Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — on the assumption that the US, under the Joe Biden administration, is willing to return to compliance by removing the sanctions.

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In spite of his fierce criticisms of the failed “maximum pressure” campaign pursued by his predecessor, Biden has not only kept all the sanctions imposed under Trump but has also added new ones as well.

Tehran says it won’t settle for anything less than the removal of all US sanctions in a verifiable manner. It also wants guarantees that Washington would not abandon the agreement again.

Addressing a special meeting with a group of Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday, Shamkhani stressed the need for a quick resolution of the remaining outstanding issues, over which no consensus has been reached so far in Vienna.

“The bitter experience of the US’s non-commitment and the European inaction has made it inevitable to meet the requirements for the conclusion of a credible, balanced and lasting agreement,” Iran’s top security official said.

Security chief: Iran’s main strategy is to render sanctions ineffective

Top security official says Iran’s principal approach is centered on efforts aimed at lifting sanctions and creating mechanisms to neutralize the illegal restrictive measures.

He emphasized that Iran’s main strategy is to create mechanisms to neutralize the sanctions it is facing in parallel with efforts to secure a removal of the illegal restrictions.

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