BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 17. Iran reiterates its commitment to resolving issues related to its nuclear program through negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said, Trend reports.
He made the statement at the meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17.
Amir Abdollahian stated that Iran pursues its principled policy of peaceful nuclear activities. He added that Iran continues to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The minister called it important that Switzerland support the process of nuclear negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program.
According to Amir Abdollahian, the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in various economic, trade, and tourism fields, as well as the cooperation of private companies, is of great importance.
During the meeting, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis positively assessed the continuation of bilateral dialogue in various fields between the two countries.
Pointing out that there is a 100-year political relationship between the two countries, Kassis asked for the continuation of cooperation in various fields and additional support for the activities of Swiss companies in Iran.
On January 16, Iran's foreign minister visited Davos, Switzerland, in order to participate in the 54th World Economic Forum.
Reportedly, Switzerland is the protector of US interests in Iran.
Iran’s nuclear program was the subject of the JCPOA, a deal signed by Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany) on January 16, 2016. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the JCPOA and imposed new sanctions on Iran as of November 2018, affecting its oil exports and freezing its assets abroad. More than 700 banks, companies, and individuals were also targeted by the sanctions.
Iran has been trying to resume talks with the other parties on its nuclear issue and revive the JCPOA. The main goals of Iran are to end the sanctions imposed by the US and Western countries, access funds frozen abroad, and resume its crude oil exports.
Iran claims that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, but the IAEA has reported that Iran has increased its highly enriched uranium by 27 percent in the last three months and now has 4,745 kilograms of enriched uranium. This is 15 times more than the amount allowed for Iran in the JCPOA.
In late 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to implement a strategic plan to tackle the sanctions, citing the non-implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and six countries and the imposition of sanctions on Iran.
According to the decision of the Iranian parliament, as of February 23, Iran suspended the implementation of additional steps and an additional protocol provided for in the nuclear deal. As a result, the control mechanism of the IAEA decreased by 20–30 percent.
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