TEHRAN — Speaking to his cabinet on Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said the only solution to the nuclear issue is the implementation of the JCPOA and Iran will not accept any other form of the deal.

“Today, everyone knows that the solution to Iran's nuclear issue is to implement the nuclear deal (JCPOA), and it is clear to the P4+1, the P5+1, Europe, the region, and everyone that the agreement must be implemented well,” he stated. 

He stressed that the implementation of the JCPOA must be in complete accordance to the text of the agreement. “Not a word too much and not a word too little.” 

According to the president, Iran has lost billions of dollars in the last four years, thus, it has demands that it will raise later. 

“We do not want JCPOA+ and etc. We want the same JCPOA,” he reiterated. 

Rouhani said that there are three steps in reviving the nuclear deal. 

“The first step is to lift the sanctions, which is the responsibility of the United States, and of course the P4+1 must also help. The Americans must lift all the sanctions and the situation must return to what was predicted in 2015 in the JCPOA. They must put aside any sanctions that were imposed under other pretexts or with new labels, and we can return to a healthy, balanced and acceptable economy.”

He added that the Americans seem serious at the moment, “but the ‘titles’ are not enough for us." 

The president then went on to draw a framework for the U.S. to lift the sanctions, saying, “They must bring all the numbered sanctions that are known on paper and the whole world should know that they have been lifted.”

The United States has imposed numerous unfair sanctions over the years against Iran.

Rouhani reiterated that Iran is moving within the framework designed by the Leader, and criticized the U.S. for adopting an ambiguous approach.

“So in the area of sanctions, the whole burden is on the United States, which we have seen in new steps, and in some places they are talking ambiguously. Of course, we have taken the right steps to date and we have taken our actions within the framework of the policies of the Leader.”

He pointed to Iran’s next steps in the revival of the nuclear deal, saying that Iran has to verify that all the sanctions are lifted. He explained that the verification procedure would be done by the Central Bank, the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development. 

“When they say they has been removed, we will announce this issue. We have discussed in detail how it should be verified and how long it will take. It is not a very complicated task. If there is cooperation and good faith, we can reach to the conclusion in a short time,” he reiterated.

He then moved to elaborate on the third step in reviving the nuclear deal, which is reversing the nuclear steps that Iran has taken as remedial measures. 

“The third step is what we have to do and our nuclear program must be completely in accordance with the JCPOA, which we will precisely do and we do not want an extra millimeter,” he pointed out. 

Rouhani described the third step as “a simple task,” since Iran’s obligations in the JCPOA have been clearly defined and Iran will implement the same JCPOA.

Reiterating the three steps needed to bring the JCPOA to life, he stated that the first step should be taken by the United States, which is lifting all the sanctions. 

Only then, after a verification of the lifting of all sanctions, Iran will return to full obligations of its commitments, he remarked.

He expressed hope that in the next steps by the P5+1, Iran would feel honesty and seriousness to reach a quick solution to the problem, reiterating Tehran’s position that this process “should not be long.”

Talks for a possible revival of the JCPOA has already started in Vienna. The latest round of talks within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission ended on Tuesday, with the delegates returning to their countries for further consultations. The Joint Commission will reconvene in the following days. 

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, head of the Iranian delegate, said on Tuesday night that there are “fixed principles” for the Iranian side.

“We definitely oppose the step-by-step process,” he emphasized.

SA/PA