Iraqchi's Response to Kerry's Remarks: These Claims Are Just Excuses

Abbas Araqchi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, reacted to recent comments made by the U.S. Secretary of State, stating that "issues related to the JCPOA are separate from other matters, and no new claims in this regard are acceptable." John Kerry, in a recent interview with the American publication 'Foreign Affairs,' mentioned that Iran's policies in Yemen, its support for Bashar al-Assad, and its assistance to Hezbollah complicate the process of U.S. support for Iran's banking system following the nuclear deal. Araqchi, speaking on Sunday evening, October 25, on Iranian state television, responded to Kerry's remarks by saying, "The proposal of new conditions for the implementation of the JCPOA is absolutely unacceptable." He added, "These claims are merely excuses to evade commitments made under the JCPOA." Araqchi further stated, "During the nuclear negotiations, we made it clear to all involved parties that issues related to Iran's national security, missile defense, regional policies, foreign policy principles, and the values of the Islamic Republic of Iran are non-negotiable and beyond doubt." The Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran emphasized, "We stressed in the negotiations that these issues have no connection to the nuclear negotiations, and the other 1+5 countries know that we negotiated under these conditions and agreed to the deal under the same terms, and the implementation of the JCPOA must also adhere to these conditions. The fact that some are now trying to introduce new conditions is completely unacceptable." Araqchi noted, "The other side was aware that Iran would not change its regional, security, and defense policies, and they negotiated and agreed to the JCPOA with this understanding." "The U.S. has not done anything beyond its commitments in the nuclear agreement," Araqchi stated. In his interview with 'Foreign Affairs,' Kerry emphasized that "the U.S. has adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA," stating, "We have even gone further and made extra efforts to encourage banks that have been reluctant to engage with Iran for various reasons to do business with Iran." The U.S. Secretary of State stressed, "We have lifted all sanctions that were agreed to be removed, but there are other problems. We need to help Iran understand that it faces challenges internally, in its banking system, in its commercial issues, and in transparency that need to be addressed." However, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, in another part of his response on Sunday evening, stated that he believes the U.S. has not done anything beyond its commitments in the nuclear agreement. Araqchi added, "The fact that Mr. Kerry travels to Europe and discusses the implementation of the JCPOA with Europeans is considered by Iran as part of his commitments under the JCPOA." Araqchi emphasized that the global powers involved in the nuclear negotiations with Iran "must create an environment and conditions that allow Iran to have proper access to financial and banking markets, especially commercial and economic markets. If they do not take steps in this direction, they are effectively failing to fulfill their commitments. At the same time, fulfilling these obligations cannot be interpreted as going beyond commitments." Iran has consistently accused the U.S. of "breach of trust" in implementing the nuclear agreement, while U.S. officials argue that Iran has long been on the list of non-nuclear sanctions for issues such as terrorism support and money laundering, which is why major global banks refrain from cooperating with Iran.