Iran: Lift sanctions immediately or no final nuke deal
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY
Tehran will not sign a final nuclear deal unless world powers simultaneously lift economic sanctions imposed on Iran, the nation's president said Thursday. The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany — the so-called P5 +1 group — reached an understanding with Iran last week on limits to its nuclear program in return for lifting crippling economic sanctions. The U.S. has previously said the sanctions would be lifted in phases, but the details have not yet been negotiated. In a televised address Thursday at a ceremony marking Iran's nuclear technology day, President Hassan Rouhani appeared to rule out a gradual removal of the sanctions, which have hit the nation's energy and financial sectors hard — and devastated its economy. "We will not sign any agreement, unless all economic sanctions are totally lifted on the first day of the implementation of the deal," he said. "We want a win-win deal for all parties involved in the nuclear talks." "The Iranian nation has been and will be the victor in the negotiations," he added. The framework deal agreed to after extended talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, states sanctions will be suspended after international monitors verify Iran is abiding by the limitations set out and that sanctions will resume if Iran fails to fulfill its obligations. "It has never been our position that all of the sanctions against Iran should be removed from Day One," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on matters of state, reiterated Rouhani's stance Thursday and said most of a fact sheet put out by the White House was contrary to what was agreed.
Khamenei also said there is no guarantee a final deal will be reached by the June deadline. "What has been done so far does not guarantee an agreement, nor its contents, nor even that the negotiations will continue to the end," he said, according to AFP. "Everything is in the detail, it may be that the other side (the six world powers), which is unfair, wants to limit our country in the details," he added. "The nuclear industry is a necessity, for energy production, for desalination, and in the fields of medicine, agriculture and other sectors." Negotiators have until June 30 to fill in the critical details to assure Iran it will get relief from the sanctions as soon as possible, and guarantee world powers that Iran won't develop a nuclear weapon. Rouhani on Thursday also called for an end to airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, calling them a "mistake." Not singling out any country in particular, he said, "You learned that it was wrong. You will learn, not later but soon, that you are making mistake in Yemen, too," the Associated Press reported. Rouhani also called for a cease-fire in Yemen to enable talks to end the crisis, the AP reported, adding to calls by the Red Cross and Russia for a cease-fire to allow aid into the war-torn nation. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said the U.S. military has begun air-refueling operations for the coalition conducting the airstrikes, as Iran-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis continued their advance on the southern port city of Aden. The Pentagon also said the United States would expedite delivery of ammunition including bombs and guidance systems to the Saudis and other coalition members. The Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday overran Ataq, the capital of the oil-rich southeastern Shabwa province in their first significant gain since the airstrikes began, the AP reported. (c) Copyright 2015 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. To subscribe or visit go to: www.usatoday.com http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/09/iran-president/25504319 |