Khatibzadeh said that the money has been allocated and a channel has been chosen, but there was an obstacle in the way of withdrawing it, which was created by the US.
He said that Iran is negotiating with the UN chief so that a safe channel would be devised for the UN to receive the money.
That the US will return to the previous path is their own concern; Iran monitors their moves – not just a couple of scattered moves, but an effective measure to be loyal to their commitments that have been ignored in the past few years, he said.
Regarding the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he said that the meeting may be held in mid-February.
He added what the US wants to do is their own concern, but they cannot do whatever they wish and go back to the previous conditions the next day.
Concerning the possibility of Iran’s expelling the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA), he said that the law passed by Majlis (Iranian Parliament) is quite clear: If the participant in the JCPOA does not do their commitments, Iran will have to put an end to beyond-Safe Guards or the Additional Protocol, which is being done voluntarily.
He added that Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA will not stop and it doesn’t mean Iran will expel the inspectors; it means safeguards inspections would be halted.
This the last chance for the Europeans to return to their commitments and keep the deal, Khatibzadeh said, adding that Iran will follow the Majlis law word by word and will not depend on its plans on the other parties. Whenever they correct their steps, Iran will correct its step; for example, it will stop the 20% enrichment.
Iran should be able to easily sell its oil and receive the money, he said.
Touching the issue of the Iranian tanker that was seized in Indonesia, he said that issues like this have happened in eastern Asia before that have been solved.
He also referred to the Korean debt to Iran and said that nothing has happened yet; Iran is waiting for the solutions proposed by the Koreans in Tehran.
Answering Sputnik’s reporter asking if Iran has distanced itself from Russia and China and approached the West, he said the presupposition of the question is incorrect, adding that Iran has a 25-year strategic roadmap of relations with China.
Regarding Russia, he also wanted the reporters to just compare the number of visits made by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the region and Asia with ones he has made to the West; he has traveled to Moscow tens of times.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went on to say that the biggest achievements of the Islamic Revolution have been independence and freedom, as well as introducing a third road to the world; Iran acts with friends but in an equal manner.
Regarding the maximum pressure policy of Washington, he added that they used the policy to disintegrate the Iranian economy and stop Iran’s relations with other countries.
That a country for any reason does not want to abide by an agreement endorsed by the UNSC and then changes ideas and wants to return to the deal is not doable, he said, adding that no one should be allowed to question the generality of the JCPOA; what Iran says has a precise legal base.
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