TEHRAN — Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday that his country is not seeking an interim agreement, adding that the United States has not raised anything as a pre-requisite in the Vienna talks.

“We did not receive any preconditions from the United States,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian reiterated.

The foreign minister stated that the negotiations are basically a process in which the issue of preconditions is not raised. 

“As long as we are negotiating, there is no issue as a precondition. We did not receive a text or a proposal within the framework of a precondition, and these negotiations are definitely based on expert views and agreements that would reach a final conclusion,” the top diplomat remarked. 

He added, “A good agreement will be in line with the interests of our nation and country.”
 
He went on to say that actions taken on paper could be good moves, but Iran seeks real actions from the American side.

President Joe Biden's administration on Friday restored sanctions waivers to Iran to allow international nuclear cooperation projects, as indirect American-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran enter the final stretch, according to Reuters.

“In our opinion, any executive order or action that restores the sanctions imposed after the withdrawal of the Americans from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA) and the lifting of sanctions is considered a good move,” Amir Abdollahian noted.

However, according to the foreign minister, Iran is observing what is happening on the ground. 

“It is important for us to see the practical performance of Americans in lifting sanctions in a tangible and objective way. What matters to us is the outcome of the talks we are pursuing in Vienna and the agreement that will be reached,” he asserted.

The chief diplomat noted that the Americans are sending messages through the EU coordinator, Enrique Mora, saying that they are showing goodwill.

“Of course, the Americans are sending repeated messages through some intermediaries, claiming that they are in good faith," he said.

He added so far Iran has not seen any serious initiative from the Americans in the negotiation process.

Amir Abdollahian noted that initiatives must be tangible and visible. “In our view, some of the initiatives should be visible in the P4+1 talks and through the non-papers exchanged between us and the Americans through the European Union, or we should see the lifting of some of the sanctions in practice.” 

The practical actions of the United States are the criterion for Iran, he asserted. 

In response to some speculations about a two-year interim agreement, Amir Abdollahian reiterated that Iran is looking for a “good and not temporary agreement.”

“We are looking for a good agreement and we are not looking for a temporary and limited agreement,” he concluded.