Speaking in his weekly press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh answered questions on a wide range of topics.
No new decision yet been made on deletion of information
In response to a question about the Vienna talks and the discussion of a technical agreement with the Agency, Khatibzadeh said, "The law of the Parliament on the obligations and duties of the government is quite clear. No new decision has yet been made on the subject of the technical agreement with the Agency, whether to continue or not, as well as the deletion of information."
"Negotiations have reached a point where all parties must make their own decisions. We have made the decisions we should have made and we are waiting for the other parties, including the United States, to make their decisions," he added.
"If the JPCOA is alive today, it is because of the decision that Iran made after the withdrawal of the United States and the inactions of the other side," he said, adding "Iran and the Iranian people have played their part in maintaining the JCPOA. The other side should know that it is present in the talks as the culprit, and the United States has made every effort to destroy the JCPOA. We witnessed the hypocritical and bullying behavior of the United States."
Regarding the technical agreement between Iran and the Agency, he noted, "The Parliament's resolution is binding, and the agreement with the IAEA was an agreement to address some of the IAEA's concerns within the framework of the Parliament's resolution. We agreed with Agency not to collect the cameras and not to share their information with it. Three months passed and an internal decision was made inside Iran not to delete the information, but since the day the Parliament's law came into force, no extra-safeguard access has been given to the IAEA."
Afghanistan's security, unity important for Iran
Answering a question about the official stance of Iran against the Taliban and the latest developments in Afghanistan, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, "We are holding talks with different parties of Afghanistan. We believe that the genuine intra-Afghan dialogue is the only solution for Afghanistan. We have always said that we are ready to facilitate talks."
"The Taliban are not all Afghanistan. They are part of Afghanistan and part of the government and the future solution of Afghanistan," he added. "This is an issue that has been said many times, and what is important is an inclusive government that includes all the genuine Afghan groups and achieves a peaceful and lasting solution in Afghanistan."
"The security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan is very closely linked," Khatibzadeh noted, stressing, "What is important to us is security, unity, an inclusive and authentic government in Afghanistan."
He went on to say, "Violence in Afghanistan has escalated to alarming levels and some minorities are under pressure. We want everyone to respect their rights. Only a political solution can guarantee Afghanistan's future."
Political solution only lasting solution to regional issues
In response to a question about some of the news on the presence of the Turkish army in Idlib due to the request of Erdogan, the spokesman said, "A political solution is the only lasting solution to regional issues. The region is too tired of war and violence and unbridled terrorism, and we must all help find peaceful solutions to crises."
"The Middle East region has had problems since the emergence of the occupier regime in the occupied territories, none of which remain unresolved. Everyone should help to resolve the accumulated crises in the region within a regional framework," he added.
JCPOA must be implemented completely, no less and no more
Khatibzadeh also pointed to the recent remarks of US National Security Advisor Sullivan, saying, "US officials know that these issues are anti-JCPOA, and these statements are made in complete opposition to the JCPOA. The nuclear and missile issues have been set out in the JCPOA and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. We will not allow Iran to be considered an exception in international relations.
What has been agreed in the JCPOA must be implemented completely, no less and no more, he added.
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