Relief from sanctions to take time, says Iran

Tehran – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that nobody should expect sanction relief will take place in a short time.

“Removing the complicated Western sanctions requires enough time,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by Xinhua. He, however, added that “it does not mean that we do not have any hope for a solution to the problems”.

Talking to Iranian lawmakers Monday, Rouhani said, “The Iranian government needs the people and parliament’s supports and the supreme leader’s guidance in the course,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The Iranian administration earlier said that the current economic problems in the country can be worked out if Iran’s nuclear issue is solved through “constructive” negotiations with the world.

The Islamic republic is under Western sanctions on its energy and financial sectors for its controversial nuclear programme.

Iran’s nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said Tehran has received no signal that the West would relieve its sanctions imposed against Iran, Press TV reported Monday.

“Any initiative that does not ensure the easing of the sanctions is not acceptable to us,” Araqchi, who is also Iran’s deputy foreign minister for international and legal affairs, was quoted as saying.

Araqchi said during the recent rounds of negotiations between the representatives of Iran and the P5+1 — the US, China, Russia, France and Britain plus Germany — in Vienna and Geneva, that the two sides “simply discussed their capabilities and facilities” during the talks, but “no agreement was reached between the two sides on the issues”.

Iran and the P5+1 countries held a fresh round of talks in Geneva Oct 15-16 and agreed to meet again in the Swiss city in November.

In his remarks Sunday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic republic is not optimistic about the ongoing nuclear talks with the major powers.

“As I have said earlier … I am not optimistic about the nuclear talks,” Khamenei said, adding that “but, with God’s help, we will not suffer loss in the negotiations and this is an experience which will enhance the mental capacity of our nation”.

“If the negotiations bear fruits, so much the better. But, if there is no result, it means that the country should rely on itself,” said the Iranian supreme leader.

However, Araqchi expressed hope Monday that the upcoming nuclear meeting with the six major world powers in Geneva will bring together different negotiators’ positions on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said that he believes Iran’s tactics and diplomacy in the talks about the country’s nuclear programme are on the right path, according to Press TV.