Iran Press/Iran news: Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Vice President for Strategic Affairs, stated in an interview about the start of the process of negotiations between the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iran and European countries starting on Friday: "Dialogue can always be a solution, but the other side (the European Union) must step away from its position of hegemony and the center of global norms."
Europeans cannot claim to be the center of norm-setting for the world, given their handling of Israeli regime crimes in Palestine, Gaza, and Lebanon. They must step down from their perceived pedestal and engage with the world as equals, acknowledging their own accountability.
Referring to recent statements by Ali Larijani, advisor to the Supreme Leader, Zarif added: "Iran has not withdrawn from the JCPOA. Iran has continued to announce that it is ready to adhere to the JCPOA. Iran has acted within the framework of the JCPOA, but the United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA and violated its commitments."
The Vice President for Strategic Affairs continued: "We are witnessing an unprecedented situation in the international community. A government that considers itself a permanent member of the UN Security Council is punishing a country that adheres to the same Council's resolution."
Asked what the Europeans did, he clarified: "They also joined the US. They first opposed America in declarations and statements, but they took no action."
Europe's commitments to Iran were based on Iran fulfilling its obligations, not on the US meeting its own commitments. Despite the US withdrawing from the JCPOA and breaching its obligations, the International Atomic Energy Agency consistently verified Iran's compliance for a year.
Zarif noted: "The Europeans not only did not fulfill their commitments in the JCPOA, they also did not adhere to commitments they made after the US withdrew from the JCPOA. After the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Europe made two commitments and did not fulfill even one of those 11 commitments. Therefore, the Europeans are not in a position to have any claim against Iran, and for this reason, the resolution they approved in the Board of Governors has no legal standing and thus is legally baseless."
The Vice President for Strategic Affairs continued: "Iran has announced that it is ready to return to its commitments, but we have not forgotten what disasters the sanctions brought upon the Iranian people during the Coronavirus era. They must show that they are ready to compensate for the damages. Europe and the United States should know that they are not in the position of claimants; they must be accountable, and only by creating a balance and an equal position can we reach an agreement."
Zarif added: "The basis of the new agreement is definitely the JCPOA, an agreement that has been worked on for months and perhaps tens of thousands of man-hours in Iran, the United States, Europe, Russia, and China. An agreement that, in the words of Europeans, is one of the most important diplomatic achievements in the world."
He stated: "It is necessary to talk again about some of the issues and dates that we have passed through due to the US's violation of the JCPOA."
The Vice President for Strategic Affairs continued: "Iran's representatives in the dialogue with Europe (Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi) are paving the way for moving forward by presenting Iran's vision and demands and raising points for which the West must be held accountable."
Emphasizing that none of the parties benefited from violating the JCPOA, Zarif noted: "The whole world is aware of this. It is in the interest of all parties that this damaging process, which is actually a process whose sum is negative, is not only stopped but also reversed and reversed, because a zero-sum result in international actions is meaningless."
