TEHRAN — Asif Ali Khan Durrani, Pakistan’s former envoy to Tehran, has said that Iran’s demands in the Vienna talks that sanctions must be lifted totally are reasonable, IRNA reported on Sunday.

“The Americans need to change their approach towards Iran for a success of the Vienna talks because they are responsible for sabotaging the nuclear deal, not the Iranian side,” Durrani said.

The former ambassador added that it was Donald Trump who unilaterally pulled the United States out of the internationally recognized nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

Durrani, now a senior member of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), said that Iran is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has a legitimate right to peaceful use of nuclear energy. 

At the same time, the former diplomat said, Washington had no justification for quitting the JCPOA, and their excuses are interpreted as false.

He stressed, “Pakistan supports a revival of the JCPOA and has always asked parties to resolve all issues through interaction and diplomacy, and so the parties to the JCPOA must adhere to their commitments and act within the framework of this agreement.”

Durrani stated that the JCPOA is a complete package and a successful model of diplomacy for resolving disputes, and if one of the parties to the treaty has a problem, it can raise it within the framework of the Joint Commission of the agreement.

He added, “The re-imposition of unilateral sanctions has made things difficult for Iran. These sanctions have created many problems for the Iranian people and their banking system, and we believe that now is the time to lift anti-Iran sanctions urgently.”

Durrani stressed that an acceleration of the Vienna talks and its successful outcome are dependent on a change of tone and approach by the United States, as well as the need to avoid adopting negative policies towards Iran and a fulfillment of the commitments by all parties.

The new round of the Vienna talks began on Thursday, December 9.  

In this round of talks, work on texts is not limited to working groups, and the parties are working in different formats and levels in the areas of sanctions lifting and nuclear steps. In addition to the nuclear measures working group, several intensive meetings were held in various formats focusing on the lifting of sanctions.