Dehghan dismisses Europe role as mediator between US, Iran

Hossein Dehghan who serves as a military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Republic and who was the former Iranian defense minister made the comments in a recent interview with the Guardian newspaper. 

According to the Guardian, Dehghan said Washington was not in a position to set preconditions for Iran’s return to the 2015 nuclear deal, and called for guarantees that the US will not leave the agreement again.

He warned that Tehran is preparing retaliatory measures to force the US to change its diplomatic trajectory.

He referred to the cruelty of the US sanctions against the Iranian nation despite the precious US administration's claim that food and medicine were not subject to the sanctions, saying that “We planned to have the loan to fight against Covid-19 pandemic, and to purchase medication and medical equipment. That is our right as one of the founders of IMF.” 

“The Americans’ approach has made our nation not trust them. Therefore, we want to receive guarantees that the Americans will not infringe the agreement again. The Americans are not in the position to set up conditions for their return to the negotiating table. They violated the agreement, so in order for them to return to negotiation, they must first lift unilateral and illegal sanctions against Iran and fulfill their commitments. Then we will have the opportunity to negotiate the issues as regards the damages and the expenses due to America leaving the JCPOA,” he said.

He dismissed the role of Europe as a mediator between Tehran and Washington, saying that since the era of Javier Solana, the EU’s senior diplomat between 1999 to 2009, the EU had lost any distinctive identity. “To be crystal clear, the Europeans have absolutely no independent stance from America any longer.”

In relevant remarks, the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warned yesterday of more reduction of JCPOA commitments by Iran when the Feb.20 deadline expires. Zarif talked of the possibility of more developing the nuclear program and reducing cooperation with IAEA inspectors if the US and E3 continue their non-compliance with their JCPOA commitments.

Furthermore, President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that Iran has not seen any goodwill gesture from the new US administration yet to revive the nuclear accord.

KI/PR