Tehran Denies Linking Iran-US Cooperation to Sanctions Relief


Tehran Denies Linking Iran-US Cooperation to Sanctions Relief

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran on Thursday denied remarks attributed to the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, about cooperation with the US against terrorists in exchange for the removal of anti-Iran sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said reports claiming that Zarif has linked Iran-US cooperation against terrorists to lifting of sanctions are unfounded.

Some media reports on Wednesday quoted the Iranian top diplomat as saying that Tehran is ready to cooperate with Washington against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in exchange for UN sanctions relief.

Afkham underlined that no such issue has been brought up by Zarif and that the reports are "baseless."

What Zarif actually said was “If we agree to do certain things at (the nuclear facility in the Iranian city of) Arak, then they should agree to do certain things in return; one of those things would be for them to go to the (UN) Security Council and lift the sanctions”.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) are in talks to reach a final agreement over Tehran’s nuclear energy program and the removal of unjustified sanctions against Iran.

The two sides are supposed to hold meetings in New York in September.

Iran and the sextet clinched a landmark interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20.

In July, the two sides agreed on the extension of their discussions until November 24 in an effort to achieve a permanent nuclear deal.

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