Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the new nuclear agreement between Iran and the six major world powers will “end” in failure if the US Congress imposes fresh illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“If there are new sanctions, then there is no deal. It’s very clear. End of the deal. Because of the inability of one party to maintain their side of the bargain,” said the Iranian minister in an interview with NBC News on Sunday.

Zarif made the comments after Tehran and the six powers - the US, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- inked an interim agreement over Iran’s nuclear energy program following more than four days of intensive discussions in the Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday morning.

The Iranian foreign minister further called on Tehran’s negotiating partners to seize the opportunity created by the newly-signed agreement to resolve the decade-old standoff over Iran’s nuclear issue.
Commenting on the contents of the nuclear deal, the Iranian top diplomat stressed that the agreement “says that Iran has an enrichment program and a right to [use] nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. For me the right to [use] nuclear [technology] for peaceful purposes incorporates the right to enrichment.”
Zarif also described the accord as a “victory” for all the negotiating sides, saying that Tehran and the six countries “are moving from confrontation to the recognition of the realities on the ground.”

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the deal allows Iran to continue its activities at Arak, Fordow and Natanz facilities. The agreement also stipulates that no additional sanctions will be imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear energy program.

Addressing journalists on Sunday after the announcement of the deal, Zarif said Iran’s right to enrichment has been recognized in the deal.

He noted that the deal is an “important achievement” but a “first step” toward resolving an “unnecessary crisis,” stressing that the two sides need to work together based on “equal footing, mutual respect and common benefits” to settle the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear issue.

By Press TV

 

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