Fabius Responds to Khamenei's Remarks: Much Work Needed for Agreement

Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated on Thursday, April 20, that the remarks made by Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, regarding the immediate lifting of all sanctions indicate that much work remains to be done to reach a final agreement, ensuring that no issues remain ambiguous. According to Reuters, Fabius, speaking before French lawmakers, noted that there are still matters that have not been agreed upon, including economic sanctions, and the leader's statements suggest that a lot of work is needed. The French Foreign Minister referred to Khamenei's comments made on Thursday, where he said, 'I am neither for nor against the Lausanne nuclear agreement, as nothing has happened yet.' However, he emphasized that 'sanctions must be completely lifted on the same day as the agreement.' Fabius also stated, 'We will maintain the positions we have held from the beginning; such an approach is constructive but requires a lot of work. If possible, we want to reach an agreement, but guarantees must be provided that nothing will remain in shadow and ambiguity.' Iran and the P5+1 countries reached a framework agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 2, to achieve a final agreement by July 1 of the following year. This agreement was announced in a joint press conference by Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, and Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief. However, after the announcement of this agreement, it seems that Iranian and American officials have different interpretations of it. The main points of contention revolve around the manner of lifting sanctions and uranium enrichment. Just one day after the nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Laurent Fabius described the timing of lifting Iran's sanctions as 'complex' and emphasized that no agreement had yet been reached on this matter. Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif stated on April 15 that the U.S. is obligated to lift sanctions against Iran following a UN Security Council resolution. However, according to Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, the Obama administration opposes lifting sanctions on the same day that a potential nuclear agreement is implemented.