TEHRAN - Shahriar Heydari, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament, has said that continuing the nuclear negotiations in an attritional way without tangible results is useless, suggesting that the West should avoid seeking a departure from the basic principles of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on September 6 that Iran would not seek a “delay even for an hour” if the talks prove productive. He said Iran has been in a transition stage and Iran’s position on the nuclear talks have been clearly expressed by the president and foreign minister.

“A democratic transition has taken place in Iran… government and ministers have taken over. About the continuation of negotiations messages have been delivered by the president and foreign minister which are clear,” the spokesman reiterated.

He underlined that Iran has made it clear that it will continue the talks to ensure a full implementation of commitments by the U.S. under the JCPOA endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
Negotiations should serve the interests of Iran and its people which have repeatedly been neglected by the U.S. violations and Europe’s inaction, the spokesman stated.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also emphasized that the Vienna talks should serve Iran’s interests and rights.

Abdollahian wrote on his Twitter account on September 2 that while receiving congratulatory calls from German, French, and Austrian foreign ministers, he discussed Iran’s “new balanced foreign policy and calibrated ties” with the European Union.”

The new foreign minister added that in the phone calls he “rreiterated that the Vienna talks must secure our rights and interests” and the United States’ “irresponsible conduct and EU's passivity must end.”

In an interview with Mehr about the latest situation surrounding the nuclear talks published on Friday, Heydari said: "Since 2015, the JCPOA talks have continued. Based on past experience, the Islamic Republic of Iran has come to the conclusion that continuing negotiations without results is useless”.

He said: "Iran is looking for the outcome of the negotiations and this issue is the opinion of the establishment, administration, and diplomatic apparatus, and if the negotiations continue, these negotiations should have results for us."

At one point the JCPOA achieved good results and it was decided that the sanctions on Iran be lifted over time, the MP said, but with the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA, the entire deal was affected and the implementation and continuation of the JCPOA was suspended.

The MP noted that the Vienna talks has been held several times in recent months and the Westerners announced that they agree with the lifting of sanctions on Iran “provided that Iran would return to the JCPOA and fulfill its obligations.”

Heydari added: "In fact, it was decided that the other side would lift all sanctions, but unfortunately this did not happen and even after the Vienna talks, we did not see a definite outcome."

He noted that Western officials attended the inauguration ceremony of President Ebrahim Raisi, declared their readiness to return to the JCPOA and negotiate with Iran. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran is also ready for negotiations, but only if these negotiations prove fruitful and not become attritional, he asserted.

The member of the national security committee stressed: "If the Westerners are to add new issues to the JCPOA, they will certainly seek to divert the JCPOA from its core principle, and neither they nor we will get any results from these talks."

"We have determined our path and strategy in the negotiations, and if the JCPOA has a result for us and leads to the complete lifting of sanctions, we will return to it, otherwise returning to the JCPOA is not in the interest of the Islamic Republic of Iran and our people,” the MP concluded.