Tehran will not accept any demands outside nuclear deal, says Iranian Foreign Ministry

The eighth round of Iran nuclear talks will start on Monday in Vienna based on a new joint document that incorporates key Iranian demands such as guarantees and verification on the lifting of sanctions, Iran’s foreign minister has said, Al Jazeera reported.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in the capital Tehran on Monday that an “acceptable” joint text has been agreed which includes talking points on sanctions and nuclear issues.

“We’ve set aside the June 2021 document and have agreed a new joint document and talks will begin today around that document,” state-run IRNA quoted Amirabdollahian as saying in reference to a text that was reached at the end of the sixth round of talks in the Austrian capital.

The eight-round of the high-stakes negotiations aimed at restoring Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – is slated to begin on Monday after a 10-day pause following the end of the previous talks that began in late November.

According to Amirabdollahian, Iran’s demands for guarantees that the US will not unilaterally abandon the deal – as it did in 2018 – and a period to verify the effective lifting of sanctions, will be discussed.

“The important issue for us is that under these terms and issues, we will reach a point where Iran can easily, and without bounds, sell its oil and the oil money would land in Iranian bank accounts in foreign currencies and we can use all economic benefits in different sectors,” he said.