Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator Seyed Abbas Araqchi underlined that Tehran cannot fully trust the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany) in their pledges to remain committed to the Geneva agreement.

It is not possible to be completely sure that the G5+1 will remain committed to their pledges, Araqchi said on Sunday.

He said that EU foreign policy chief Catherin Ashton has assured that G5+1 insists on speedy implementation of Geneva deal to clinch a final agreement with Iran.

“Since we have witnessed the lack of trust on the part of the other side in the past, we cannot be quite sure about their commitment,” Araqchi said.

Both sides are at odds over some points, he said, adding that difference of opinion might prolong the endorsement of a final accord.

Under the interim deal reached in Geneva on November 24, Iran agreed to stop progress in parts of its nuclear program for six months in return for some $7bln in relief from western sanctions.

The United States also agreed to refrain from slapping new sanctions on Iran. After the United States' recent punitive measures, Tehran officials have issued serious warnings that Washington is about to ruin the agreement.

In relevant remarks last Sunday, Zarif deplored Washington for breaching the Geneva agreement by blacklisting a dozen companies and individuals for evading US sanctions, and said Tehran will show a well-assessed and goal-oriented reaction to any measure adopted by the world powers in violation of the deal.

“The Americans have taken improper measures in the last few days and we have given the appropriate response to them after considering all aspects of the issue,” Zarif said.

He stressed that Tehran is seriously pursuing the Geneva negotiations with the Group 5+1, “and we will, of course, show proper, well-assessed, targeted and smart reaction to any improper and unconstructive measure (of the opposite side even if it doesn’t violate the Geneva agreement)”.

Meantime, the foreign minister said the nuclear negotiations are moving on a rough path with many ups and downs before the attainment of the final results, "which is not something unexpected as we had foreseen this since the very first day”.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said last Sunday that the fresh sanctions imposed by the US against a number of individuals and companies for violating the previous embargos against Iran will trouble the Geneva deal and inflict harm on the West’s interests.

“The West’s action creates misunderstanding and is among the US and the western countries’ immoralities; they make some agreements but don’t create conditions for their implementation,” Larijani told reporters in the Central city of Qom.

“If anyone rocks the boat on the path of the Geneva agreement, it will not benefit the West,” he added.

Larijani underlined that Tehran expected the West to pave the way for further agreement after the Geneva deal (signed by Iran and the world powers in November), but the western side has not kept its promises to this end.

Also this week, a senior Iranian legislator deplored Washington for imposing new sanctions against a dozen companies and individuals for evading US embargos, and warned that Tehran will defy the Geneva deal if the US continues breaching the terms of the agreement.

“As Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) has stated ‘we will not lose anything by negotiation’ and certainly, the Islamic Republic will continue its path and if the Americans don’t keep their promise, we won’t act upon the contents of the agreement (anymore),” Rapporteur of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told FNA.

Noting that the Geneva deal requires the US and other sides not to impose new sanctions against Iran, he said by blacklisting new individuals and companies, Washington has proved that it doesn’t abide by any agreement and is untrustworthy.
 

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