TEHRAN — In his first press briefing as the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani told the French foreign minister that the window of diplomacy has been open because of Iran’s various initiatives.

Speaking at a weekly presser on Wednesday, Kanaani said that Iran’s stance regarding the sanctions lifting negotiations is quite clear. 

“The clear message of the Islamic Republic of Iran is that we are committed to multilateral negotiation and diplomacy to resolve disputes. As the foreign minister has pointed out several times, if there were no initiatives and efforts of Iran followed by Tehran’s goodwill, perhaps the window of diplomacy for the remaining issues would not remain open until now. Therefore, the European parties and their allies, i.e., the American government, must know that the window of negotiations remains open due to the responsible behavior and prudent planning of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Kanaani said in response to Catherine Colonna, France’s chief diplomat who said Tuesday that Iran is playing the “procrastination game.”

He then noted that Iran has fully fulfilled its responsibilities and obligations in the nuclear agreement, and it was the U.S. government that illegally and unilaterally left the agreement in violation of its international responsibilities and refused to fulfill its obligations. 

The spokesman added, “These European governments were members of the JCPOA, which, despite having pledged to accept the responsibilities resulting from America's withdrawal from the JCPOA and to compensate for this illegal and unilateral withdrawal, in practice, except for hollow statements, did not take any positive action in fulfilling their commitments.” 

The diplomat noted that it is the Iranian government that has the right to make demands and hold the European JCPOA signatories accountable for their failure to honor their commitments. 

“Iran does not recognize a right for these parties to question and make demands or even threaten and blame Iran,” he strongly cautioned. 

'Time and venue of negotiations’ 

Elsewhere in the briefing, the spokesman noted that Tehran still adheres to the negotiation process and these negotiations are ongoing as before through the exchange of messages. 

“The exchange of messages is both at the level of Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian with Mr. Josep Borrell and at the level of Mr. Bagheri, the chief negotiator of our country, with Mr. Enrique Mora. The way of coming to a conclusion regarding the continuation of the negotiations and also the place of the negotiations are being discussed in the communiques and messages of the parties and the time and place of the negotiations will be determined soon,” he added. 

He then went on to note that Iran does not consider a failure to determine the time and venue of the negotiations as the end of the talks. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is on the path of negotiation, and Iran will follow this path as long as the opposite parties adhere to the negotiation process and multilateral diplomacy. Of course, as the government and the foreign ministry have stated many times, Iran will not condition its foreign relations, especially the development of its economic and commercial relations, and will not wait for the JCPOA and nuclear talks to lift sanctions,” the spokesman remarked. 

He then expressed hope that through a constructive approach and goodwill by all parties to the negotiations, including the United States, which is chiefly responsible for the current predicament in the negotiation process, it would be possible to bring the talks to a result in the near future.

The diplomat reiterated that Tehran is serious about reaching an agreement that will meet the interests of the Iranian nation and guarantee Iran's economic interests from the JCPOA, and so far Iran has presented the most initiatives in the negotiations. 

“I believe that it is the opposite parties, both the European side and especially the American side, that should make their own political decision whether to conclude the negotiation process in the near future or not,” he underlined. 

According to the spokesman, Iran's positions are clear and rightful. Returning to the 2015 agreement is a principled position for Tehran, and it has announced this numerous times, he noted, adding, “A government that illegally and unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and caused a lot of damage to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian nation should not sit as a claimant and blame the Iranian side.”

The spokesman went on to say that if the American government acts responsibly and makes a political decision that proves in action that Iran's defined economic interests will be guaranteed within the framework of the 2015 agreement, Iran will return to the agreement. 

“It is the U.S. government that should provide the necessary guarantees. There is no extravagant demand from Iran in the negotiations that have taken place (so far),” he clarified, rebuffing the Western media narrative that Iran made excessive demands in both Doha and Vienna. 

Americans can’t justify their destructive behavior through op-eds

In response to a question about the recent claims of U.S. President Joe Biden who wrote in The Washington Post that the increase in economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran has reduced the number of so-called Iran-backed attacks on American forces compared to two years ago, Kanaani said, “It is very surprising to me that the Americans think that by uttering such sentences or writing op-eds in a newspaper, they can justify and explain the result of their bad and destructive actions that they have practiced in the region and especially in the West Asia region for many years.”

He added that Biden and the American officials must know what the people of the region think about America's interventionist policy in the region. 

“We are on the eve of the U.S. president's visit to the region. In his article, he stated that one of the main goals of his trip was to help strengthen peace and security, and to create stability and peace in the region, as well as resolving disputes. I try very hard to be optimistic, but I think a glance at the tradition of American foreign policy over many years in the region and the world shows that these statements cannot be consistent with the on the ground policy of the United States in the region,” he responded. 

The spokesman said creating peace, stability and tranquility in the region entails a practical change in Washington’s “destructive” behavior.
 
He noted that the nature of the Zionist regime is illegitimate as its history has been full of crime, occupation and violation of law for more than seven decades. 

“America is the full and unconditional supporter of this regime in the region. America's interventionist policy in the countries of the region is an illegal policy. U.S. military presence in the countries of the region has been illegal. The illegal presence of the United States in the countries of the region, including Iraq and Afghanistan, has not brought stability, order and security to these countries; rather it has brought extensive material, spiritual and human losses…  and suffering, pain and sorrow,” the spokesman lamented. 

The diplomat went on to state that the American government cannot forward-escape with an op-ed and the comments of its president and possibly attribute the actions against the presence of the American military forces in the region to Iran or to the forces attributed to Iran.

Kanaani continued, “I believe that the American government and the president of this country, who announces that he wants to travel to the region with the intention of creating peace and stability, should review the regional foreign policy of the United States and take a look at the public opinion in the region and match the facts. They should change their behavior and abandon the policy of supporting the Zionist regime. The presence of the Zionist regime in the region and the full support of the U.S. to this regime is the source of the maximum instability and unrest in the region. Correcting this behavior, avoiding interference in the internal affairs of countries, avoiding creating symbolic alliances and political and security divisions in the region, as well as respecting the sovereignty and independence of countries, is the best behavior that the American government can adopt in order to bring stability and peace to the region.”

We hope to see Assadollah Assadi be released soon

Responding to a question on the latest developments regarding Assadollah Assadi, the jailed Iranian diplomat in Belgium, the spokesman noted, “Undoubtedly, the pursuit of the release of this diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran as soon as possible since the beginning of his illegal arrest and detention in violation of the Vienna Convention has been and continues to be pursued by the foreign ministry and all relevant government entities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

An immediate and unconditional release of Assadollah Assadi is a serious demand of Iran, he insisted, adding, “Political talks and consultations are held with the Belgian authorities, and there are close contacts and consultations with the Belgian Judiciary.”

Kanaani continued, “We hope that we will soon witness the release of this Iranian diplomat in the context of the actions taken and the follow-ups that have been carried out so far and the efforts that we have made so far, and we think that the Belgian government should also pay attention to Tehran’s legal request.”