The full text of the letter is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th US president. One of his election pledges was to return to the Iran nuclear deal (officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the JCPOA).
Despite the US violation of its commitments and Europe’s inaction with regards to their obligations under the JCPOA over the past three years, and given that there are still some individuals in Iran with different political tastes who are vocal critics of the JCPOA, and whereas the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always remained committed to its international obligations and has complied with its commitments under the JCPOA, we deem it necessary to emphasize the following points:
1. If the new US administration is willing to take confidence-building and positive steps with regards to the Islamic Republic of Iran, it should know that the trend of returning to the JCPOA begins at the same point where the Trump administration withdrew from it and breached the United States’ international obligations under the JCPOA.
As the Supreme Leader [of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] has announced loud and clear, “If they return to their commitments, we will, too.”
2. Whereas the United States itself was one of the signatories to the JCPOA and this agreement has been emphasized and highlighted by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, and the JCPOA is, in fact, and integral part of Resolution 2231, under Article 25 of the UN Charter, the US is obliged to fully live up to the commitments inserted in the JCPOA. However, the previous US administration not only blatantly violated this international obligation but encouraged other countries to breach their commitments under the agreement. Nevertheless, despite the United States’ heavy pressure, no other country followed the US government’s lead regarding the violation of obligations stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 2231. It is noteworthy that the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained committed to its obligations under the JCPOA all along.
3. The administration of Mr. Biden is well aware that the reinstatement of sanctions by the previous US government in violation of its JCPOA commitments amounts to the enforcement of sanctions against Iranian people and depriving them of their inalienable rights. Accordingly, former US President Donald Trump should be tried and punished for the commission of numerous crimes against humanity, extensive and systematic violation of fundamental human rights, the imposition of cruel sanctions, namely with regards to drugs and food, against Iranian people, as well as the promotion of, and support for state terrorism, including his straightforward confession that he ordered the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
4. It is clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran, at this juncture, being much more powerful than it was in 2016 in defense and modern technologies sectors, will not submit to issues which are unrelated to the JCPOA, and will not allow any party to open a new chapter in talks. Therefore, we expect the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to deal with the issue of negotiations within the framework of the JCPOA patiently and prudently while observing the three principles of dignity, wisdom and expediency.
5. During the process where the US should stop violating and return to its obligations, the Islamic Republic of Iran should insist on its rightful stances, and return to its commitments under the JCPOA proportionately and reciprocally in a confidence-building process after making sure that sanctions are lifted. If cruel sanctions against resistant Iranian people remain in place, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should press ahead with its scientific and defense progress and keep promoting its peaceful nuclear program as far as national interests require.
6. The JCPOA is an agreement which includes multilateral commitments. So, should one or more state signatories to the deal refuse to make good on their obligations, the other side reserves the right to scale down its commitments based on the provisions of the JCPOA.
7. We believe that if the US stops its enmity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, new conditions will emerge to set the stage for reducing and finally defusing tensions in our region.
8. We strongly believe that dialogue and understanding have always been a proper diplomatic tool to achieve legitimate objectives in line with establishing and cementing peace, justice, stability and security in the region.
What follows is a list of 43 former deputy foreign ministers and ambassadors who have signed this statement:
• Ebrahim Rahimpour, former deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific affairs
• Behrouz Kamalvandi, former deputy foreign minister for financial and administrative affairs and incumbent spokesman for Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
• Seyyed Baqer Sakhaei, former deputy foreign minister for financial and administrative affairs
• Hamid Assefi, former deputy foreign minister for Europe and Americas affairs
• Ali Ahani, former deputy foreign minister for Europe and Americas affairs
• Seyyed Hossein Adeli, former deputy foreign minister for economic affairs
• Alireza Moayyeri, former deputy foreign minister for research and education
• Abbas Maleki, former deputy foreign minister for research and education
• Mohammad Javad Asayesh, former ambassador to Oman and Qatar
• Abolqassem Delfi, former ambassador to France
• Ahmad Sobhani, former ambassador to Venezuela
• Ahmad Dastmalchian, former ambassador to Lebanon and Jordan
• Abdollah Norouzi, former ambassador to Sweden
• Mohammad Moussa Hashemi Golpayegani, former ambassador to Turkmenistan
• Mohammad Taher Rabbani, former ambassador to the Vatican
• Ali Akbar Farazi, former ambassador to Hungary
• Mohammad Hassan Fadaeifard, former ambassador to Spain
• Mohammad Taheri, former ambassador to the Azerbaijan Republic
• Mahmoud Mohammadi, former ambassador to Tunisia
• Seyyed Ali Nematollahi, former ambassador to Switzerland
• Seyyed Mahdi Navvab, former ambassador to Germany
• Seyyed Ali Saqaeian, former ambassador to Armenia and Brazil
• Mostafa A’laei, former ambassador to Venezuela
• Mohammad Raisi, former ambassador to Armenia
• Jahanbakhsh Mozaffari, former ambassador to Italy
• Seyyed Hossein Mousavian, former ambassador to Germany
• Mohammad Ali Qane’zadeh, former ambassador to Brazil and South Africa
• Seyyed Hossein Rezvani, former ambassador to Norway
• Seyyed Reza Tabatabaei Shafiei, former ambassador to Bolivia
• Seyyed Mahmoud Sadri, former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Amir Ali Shahidi, former ambassador to Mauritania
• Javad Ansari, former ambassador to Brunei and Singapore
• Mansour Moazzami, former ambassador to Brazil
• Mohammad Javad Sadeq, former ambassador to Croatia
• Abdolhamid Fekri, former ambassador to Brunei
• Ahmad Edrisian, former ambassador to Cuba
• Seyyed Davoud Salehi, former ambassador to Cuba and Spain
• Abolfazl Rahnama, former ambassador to Portugal
• Seyyed Ja’far Hashemi, former ambassador to Brazil
• Sabah Zangeneh, former ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
• Hassan Taherian, former ambassador to South Korea
• Mohammad Zaeri Amirani, former ambassador to Sri Lanka
• Mohsen Sharif Khodaei, former ambassador to Croatia
ZZ/PR
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