Tehran: Iran will only sign a final nuclear accord with six world powers if all sanctions imposed over its disputed atomic work are lifted on the same day, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Thursday (April 9).
President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran will sign nuclear deal only if sanctions lifted same day
Iran and the powers reached a tentative agreement last week in the Swiss city of Lausanne aimed at restricting Tehran’s nuclear program in return for removing the economic penalties.
“We will not sign any deal unless all economic sanctions are lifted on the same day of the signing of that deal,” Rouhani said.
All sides are working towards a June 30 deadline for a final deal on the nuclear work, which Western powers fear is aimed at developing an atomic bomb but Tehran says is purely peaceful.
Since the preliminary agreement was reached, Iran and the United States seem to have different interpretations over some issues, including the pace and extent of sanctions removal.
“We don’t want to tell the world that we have entered negotiations in which we are the winners and our opposite party is defeated,” Rouhani said.
Iran insists all nuclear-related United Nations resolutions, as well as U.S. and EU nuclear-related economic sanctions, will be lifted immediately once a final accord is signed.
But the United States said on Monday (April 6) that sanctions would have to be phased out gradually under the comprehensive nuclear pact.
The U.S. and EU sanctions have choked nearly 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian exports since early 2012, reducing its oil exports by 60 percent to around 1 million barrels a day.
During his speech, Rouhani reiterated Iran’s stance on nuclear work.
“We will not let go of our peaceful (nuclear) technology. Our (nuclear facilities in) Natanz will continue its activity. Enrichment in Natanz will continue. We have over a thousand centrifuges in place in Fordo and they will remain in place,” he said.
Ventuno