TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday that his Qatari counterpart carried messages from the parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Speaking in a joint press conference in Tehran with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the top Iranian diplomat praised Doha's efforts during global negotiations to resurrect the nuclear accord, which has been in limbo since the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018.

The foreign minister of Qatar also confirmed he was carrying a message from the United States regarding the negotiations to revive the JCPOA and also expressed hope that the gnarls of talks would be unwrapped soon. 

The new message of the Americans surrounding the JCPOA comes at a time when American officials have emphasized several times in recent weeks that the revival of the JCPOA is not on Washington’s agenda and their focus is on other issues.

The fact is that Americans were pinning hope on street riots in Iran during the last few months. With the uprisings scaling down, their hope disappeared to exploit disturbances.    

Now is the time to see how serious, progressive and constructive the new message of the Americans is. 

There will be no opening in the JCPOA revival talks, if Americans’ message be the repetition of the same wrong past positions because Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it is not ready to pay ransom to the White House.

Iran welcomes Qatar's diplomatic moves

Without going into any detail, Amir Abdollahian stated, “Today, we got messages from the JCPOA parties via the Qatari foreign minister.”

He declared that Iran welcomes Qatar's diplomatic moves or delivery of messages intended to assist the JCPOA parties to resolve remaining issues in the efforts to achieve the goal of lifting U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Given the question regarding the continuation of U.S. economic pressure against Iran, Abdollahian responded, “Unfortunately, conducting economic terrorism against independent countries is on the U.S. agenda.”

“Iran has employed a variety of techniques to counteract the sanctions and will keep doing it,” the senior Iranian diplomat said, adding, “We will continue to cooperate with our allies in the region to oppose such counterproductive efforts, which are in fact a systematic infringement of human rights.”

The Qatari foreign minister, for his part, affirmed that he conveyed messages from several JCPOA parties to his Iranian counterpart on a variety of concerns.

Now is the right time to resolve the problems surrounding moves to resurrect the JCPOA and lay the foundation for the parties to negotiate a binding agreement, Al Thani said.

He went on to say that he also delivered messages from the U.S. to Iran, and that his government will keep working to clear up misconceptions between the parties and get them back to their obligations under the nuclear deal.

The Qatari minister also noted that Doha aspires to foster regional stability and help restore the JCPOA, which plays an essential role in this respect.

In May 2018 former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the JCPOA, a deal signed between Tehran and six other countries three years earlier. 

As part of his “maximum pressure” campaign, Trump also placed severe economic penalties on Tehran. 

In April 2021, months after Joe Biden succeeded Trump, negotiations to save the deal began in Vienna, Austria. 

They were intended to gauge Washington's commitment to rejoining the accord and lifting sanctions on Iran.

“Iran embraces regional dialogue to bring about peace"

Amir Abdollahian also emphasized that talks and accountability are essential for fostering long-term collaboration in the region while stating that Iran has always supported dialogue among regional nations.

“We believe that dialogue and cooperation can be exclusive and successful ways to achieve regional peace, stability and collective security,” he stressed.

He pointed out that Tehran and Doha share the same opinion on the necessity of accelerating the development of ties and removing any potential barriers in this respect.

“Drone attack on military workshop”

Referring to the Saturday night drone strike on a military facility in the central city of Isfahan, Amir Abdollahian called it a “cowardly” measure which enemies strive to sow instability in Iran. 

Such actions would have no effect on the specialists’ determination to advance Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, he asserted. 

He said that the Iranian security forces are working tirelessly to provide “maximum security” for the country.

“Qatari proposed ideas about war in Ukraine”

The Iranian foreign minister also underlined that his Qatari counterpart has made suggestions on the current conflict in Ukraine.

Amir Abdollahian noted that the first round of political negotiations between Iran and Ukraine took place in Oman and that Tehran appreciated Doha's assistance in facilitating the second round of negotiations.

“Tehran-Riyadh ties”

Also, Amir Abdollahian said Iran and Saudi Arabia will undertake a new round of negotiations and announced that negotiations with Bahrain were also ongoing through an intermediary.  

He also stated that Iran has no issues with any of its neighbors.

Successful negotiations and message exchanges with the Persian Gulf governments are underway, the chief diplomat remarked.