“The ministers asked the US government to reconsider its obligations to the implementation of JCPOA,” Rouhani said upon arrival at Mehrabad Airport, pointing to the first meeting of Iran and 5+1 Joint Commission in New York on Thursday.
President Rouhani pointed to the achievements of his trip, saying in Venezuela he held talks with the leaders of member states attending the 17th NAM Summit.
He expressed satisfaction with his stay in Venezuela saying Iran announced its stances among 120 countries participating in the event and held bilateral meetings with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Touching upon his visit to Cuba, Rouhani said “I decided to take a trip to Cuba, as my first destination in Latin America, since the country has resisted firmly against the US imposed power.”
“I held meetings with Cuban President Raúl Castro and his predecessor Fidel Castro and they both ensured their issues with the US is remaining and confrontation with the US will not disappear anytime soon; the disagreements with the US especially in economy and sanctions will remain.”
Rouhani underlined Cuba warmly welcomes re-activation of ties with the Islamic Republic, adding the joint commission will be held immediately to advance the procedures.
He also reiterated that Iran will get its $2 billion of frozen assets and added interest will be back via the legal procedures underway in the International Court of Justice.
“We will never allow the US to swallow Iranian assets and we will take them back,” the president said in reference to the legal proceedings initiated by Iran with The Hague-based International Court of Justice to retake Iranian frozen assets from the US.
Rouhani noted that all 14 meetings in New York with the heads of states were very important since in all they asked about the situation in the region and the solutions to the regional issues.
He added that what our enemies say “Iran is the problem, not the solution,” is a ridiculous comment since all heads were explicitly asking us what to do; “all recognize Iran’s unique role in the region and agree that the Islamic Republic is a solution to the crises in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and other countries.”
Pointing to the post-sanctions era, Rouhani said all express satisfaction with the situation after the removal of sanctions and the implementation of JCPOA. “They say illegal sanctions were an obstacle against their activities and ties with the Islamic Republic.”
He quoted French President François Hollande as saying “We got all this trouble and made an agreement; no country can create disruption in banking issues and we must resolve the problems ahead; all our nations should take advantage of these opportunities."
President Rouhani said that the major banks have reported to Iran that the US Department of Treasury refused to give a clear-cut license to the banks, telling them that the US lifted the sanctions about the nuclear dispute, but, other sanctions are still in place.
“It is very important that the six states parties hold same stance over the implementation of JCPOA as that of Iran during the first session of the Joint Commission on JCPOA,” President Rouhani noted.
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