US actions obstruct final nuclear deal: Velayati
A top aide to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Washington’s anti-Iran measures hinder a final nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group.
Following his Sunday meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Tehran, Ali Akbar Velayati criticized US officials for their anti-Iran actions and comments despite last November’s interim nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany.
“The measures adopted by American officials under the pretext of [being under] pressure from the Zionists (Israelis) are not acceptable,” said Velayati, stressing, “Such actions by the Americans serve as an obstacle in the way of an international agreement between the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic.”
Iran expects Ashton, who represents the six countries in their nuclear discussions with Tehran, to react in protest at any violations of the landmark interim deal over Tehran’s nuclear energy program, added Velayati.
Iran and the six countries are currently in talks in an effort to reach a final agreement to fully resolve the decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Tehran and its negotiating sides inked an interim nuclear deal in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2013. Under the accord, the P5+1 agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building measure to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities for a six-month period.
However, on December 12, the US issued new sanctions against a number of companies and individuals for “providing support for” Iran’s nuclear energy program.
In a similar move in February, Washington blacklisted nearly three dozen companies and individuals, accusing them of evading anti-Iran sanctions.
Over the past months, senior US officials have also stepped up their military threats against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program.
Source: presstv.com
