All Iran sanctions to be lifted upon deal implementation: Araqchi

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says all sanctions against Tehran will be lifted under a mutual understanding reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Switzerland immediately after the a final deal goes into force.

All economic and financial sanctions as well as all resolutions issued by the UN Security Council (UNSC) against Iran will be null and void on the first day of the implementation of a final agreement to be reached between Iran and the six global powers, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in a televised interview on Friday.

The removal of Iran from six binding UNSC resolutions was an “unprecedented” measure and an outcome of the Iranian nation’s resistance in a full-fledged political, economic and security battle over the past 10 years, said Araqchi, who is a chief Iranian nuclear negotiator.

The recognition of Iran’s legitimate and legal nuclear program was the key achievement of the Lausanne agreement, he noted.

Araqchi emphasized that the world now pursues a respectful attitude to Iran “because the language of threat and sanctions is not acceptable to us and the world has come to the conclusion that no threat and sanctions will work on the Iranian nation.”

“Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment [activities], has been recognized in the recent statement in Lausanne and it is not seen as a threat anymore,” the Iranian negotiator said.

He emphasized that both sides should live up to all their commitments under the Lausanne agreement, saying Iran reserves the right to reverse its position if the other side does not keep its side of the bargain

“We will continue our enrichment activities in Natanz [nuclear site]. We have no plans to build new enrichment sites for the long years ahead because Natanz meets our demands,” he pointed out.

He expressed hope that further negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries would come to fruition before July 1.

At the end of eight days of sensitive nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Thursday, Iran and the P5+1 states – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany – issued a joint statement, saying that no Iranian nuclear facility will be shut down or suspended and that all sanctions against the Islamic Republic will be lifted.

The joint statement is a sign that Iran and its negotiating partners have come to a mutual understanding over Tehran’s nuclear program and will work to draw up a final accord by the end of the self-designated June 30 deadline.

According to the joint statement, Fordow nuclear facility will be turned into a research center for nuclear science and physics. It also said the heavy water reactor in the Iranian city of Arak will remain in place but will be redesigned and updated. Iran will implement the Additional Protocol temporarily and voluntarily in line with its confidence-building measures and after that the protocol will be ratified in a time frame by the Iranian government and Parliament (Majlis).