P5+1 must fulfill JCPOA obligations: Iranian official
A senior Iranian diplomat says the P5+1 group of countries must completely fulfill all its obligations, particularly in the banking sector, under the nuclear agreement it reached with Iran last July.
In a meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in Bern on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said the Islamic Republic has complied with its obligations under the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started implementing the JCPOA on January 16.
Under the deal, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US would be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.
However, many large European banks still refrain from engaging in transactions with Iran for fear of US penalties.
Takht-e Ravanchi also said political dialog between Tehran and Bern would prepare the ground for further expansion of cooperation, particularly in the economic sector.
The Swiss foreign minister, for his part, welcomed the growing trend of his country’s relations with Iran and said Bern is keen to make use of various opportunities created by bilateral ties and to cooperate on regional developments.
Takht-e Ravanchi is in Switzerland to hold political talks with the country’s senior officials few months after Tehran and Bern agreed on a road map for improving relations in different fields.
The roadmap was agreed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Swiss counterpart Johann Schneider-Ammann in Tehran on February 27.
“The aim is to relaunch various dialogs between Switzerland and Iran,” Switzerland’s department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research said in a statement.
During Schneider-Ammann’s visit to Tehran, the two countries signed agreements in the fields of economy, banking cooperation, politics and culture.
