Iraqchi: US Sanctions on Dollar Use Will Not Be Lifted with JCPOA

Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, responded on Saturday to critics of the nuclear agreement within Iran who are criticizing the failure to lift dollar sanctions, stating that the sanctions on Iran's use of the dollar in foreign transactions date back to the early days of the revolution and will not be lifted with the JCPOA. According to Fars News Agency, Araqchi mentioned in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that the opposing parties in the nuclear agreement have fulfilled their 'commitments' regarding the lifting of sanctions, saying: 'They have acted on the commitments they had on paper regarding the lifting of sanctions according to the JCPOA, and the infrastructure of nuclear-related sanctions has been completely dismantled.' Iran and six world powers reached an agreement on July 14 last year to end the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which involved a significant reduction in Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear sanctions against the Islamic Republic. This agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been implemented since January of last year. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister pointed out that 'some sanctions still remain that are not related to the JCPOA and nuclear issues,' stating: 'From the very beginning, we said that the primary US sanctions and non-nuclear-related sanctions would remain in place.' Araqchi added: 'I do not understand why some have become so interested in the dollar and keep asking why dollar sanctions have not been lifted.' According to IRIB News Agency, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister clarified: 'The use of the dollar or benefiting from US financial systems is subject to the initial sanctions related to the early revolution, which will not be lifted with the JCPOA.' He further stated: 'This issue should be negotiated in bilateral relations with the US to lift the dollar-related sanctions, which is not our demand.' Araqchi also mentioned: 'We have never waited for Mr. Obama's advice on not using the US dollar; we have already turned to other currencies.' The Deputy Foreign Minister's reference pertains to discussions in the US regarding the Obama administration's efforts to ease currency sanctions on Iran. US officials have stated that the Obama administration is considering easing some sanctions for non-American companies so they can use the US financial system to obtain the dollars needed for their transactions with Iran. This move by the Obama administration has raised concerns among some Republicans in Congress. However, Jacob Lew, the US Treasury Secretary, stated that the goal of these actions is to ease some of Iran's sanctions and that Tehran will not be allowed access to the US financial system. Araqchi continued in the interview by addressing the challenges Iran faces in regaining its share of the global oil market, stating that returning to previous conditions will take time. He added: 'Oil sales before the sanctions were 2.5 million barrels, which dropped to one million barrels after the Geneva agreement. Our oil buyers have left during this time and signed contracts with other countries, and we need to find our customers again; no one can expect us to return to the same level of oil exports we had in the past overnight after the agreement.' The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized: 'The West should have committed to lifting oil sanctions, but they have not committed to finding us buyers for our oil. We are currently selling about 1.7 million barrels of oil, but returning to previous levels will take some time.' Iran's efforts to reclaim its market share in oil production and sales coincide with a drop in oil prices in global markets, which is considered one of the largest declines in international markets in the past decade. In less than three weeks, major oil-producing countries are set to meet in Doha, Qatar, to agree on maintaining oil production ceilings, with Saudi Arabia and Russia presiding over the meeting.