TEHRAN — For the first time in the course of the Vienna talks, Iran asked two foreign ministers to convey a message to the United States, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman revealed on Monday.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Saeed Khatibzadeh reiterated Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian’s June 14 remarks in which Iran presented an initiative prior to the issuance of the anti-Iran resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, insisting that the initiative contained substance.

“Before the (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting and the issuance of the resolution, Iran again tried to pave the way for an agreement. All this time, it has been Iran's initiative that, despite the sabotage and the prolongation and waste of energy that the United States has committed, we have tried to move the negotiation forward.”

Prior to the meeting of the 35-nation board, the initiative of Iran was conveyed to the U.S. through EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Khatibzadeh said. 

“We even conveyed this initiative and proposal of Iran through two other foreign ministers for the first time in the course of talks to make sure that the message was delivered in full detail, and a timetable was drawn up, but the United States decided again to extend and delay the agreement,” Khatibzadeh said.

With this misconception and illusion that it can use the anti-Iran resolution as a leverage, the U.S. took the resolution to the Board of Governors, the spokesman added. 

“Iran's response in this regard was decisive and proportionate,” he remarked. 

According to the spokesman, now the policy is the same path of diplomacy. 

“For a while, they went the wrong way and had a miscalculation, and they were given an appropriate response. We are following the path of diplomacy through Mr. Borrell,” the spokesman pointed out. 

He added that if the United States agrees, based on its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), must drop all sanctions and not try in vain to maintain the maximum pressure components. 

“We can finalize the agreement based on Iran's initiative,” he maintained.

Biden administration build on Trump’s failed legacy

Elsewhere in the presser, Khatibzadeh faced a question about the recent phone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Borrell, in which the EU chief diplomat stated that reaching an agreement in Vienna is within reach.

In response, the spokesman said Washington has adopted the approach of running with the hare and hunting with the hound and this policy is clear to all. 

“When you hear the statements of some U.S. officials, on the one hand, they claim that they want to make up for the Trump administration's mistake and act responsibly in the international system and respect international law; on the other hand, we are witnessing the lawless behavior and continued failed policies of the Trump administration,” Khatibzadeh noted. 

He went on to caution that this behavior of the United States shows that Iran must be vigilant for “a thousand reasons, and for the thousands of reasons that are added to those reasons every day.” 

“The U.S. government has caused the international community to distrust this country, and for all these reasons we must carefully protect the interests and rights of the great people of Iran,” the diplomat underlined. 

“Train of diplomacy has not derailed”

Regarding the Vienna talks, Khatibzadeh said that the train of diplomacy to revive the 2015 nuclear deal has not derailed.

“This train (of diplomacy) still has not derailed despite all negligence and actions taken by the United States and continuing the same path that Trump had taken. Why are we at this current predicament? Because in 2018, the United States unilaterally and illegally withdrew from the JCPOA, and exerted maximum pressure, which later, according to them, led to a disgraceful defeat,” he added.

According to the spokesman, the current predicament is because one side did everything it could to undermine the JCPOA, which is endorsed by United Nations Security Council resolution 2231.

The diplomat expressed hope that as Borrell, the coordinator of the JCPOA stated, the American side will return to the path of diplomacy that results in the signing of the agreement as soon as possible. 

“We are ready for a good, lasting and effective agreement and we are ready to grasp all the grounds for accomplish it,” the spokesman added. 

On a question why Iran is giving so much opportunity to the United States, he said, “The United States has overused the tool of sanctions in the international system as much as possible, and some of its sanctions have become a joke.”

Khatibzadeh added that the United States’ behavior is important in returning to the JCPOA. 

“The more sanctions the United States adds, the harder it (the U.S. return) gets. Agents within the United States and the White House are working to preserve Trump's legacy.

They certainly cannot preserve Trump's legacy and will call for negotiations,” he said, adding that what is left between Tehran and Washington is not limited to just one issue.