Iran denies framework outlines sanctions relief phases

Iranian deputy foreign minister has disputed the notion that the framework accord between Iran and the world powers’ group, P5+1, talks about a phase-wise removal of economic sanctions on Iran.

In an appearance on national television late Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the international economic sanctions on Iran would be removed immediately once a final agreement took shape by the June deadline.

Araghchi contested US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent statement about a phase-wise removal of sanctions and said both sides had agreed that financial sanctions and UN enforced embargos would be lifted from the first day of agreement’s implementation.

He added that the joint statement read by the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini Thursday itself was clear on the issue.

Zarif too had weighed in on the controversy over the different interpretations of the framework agreement Friday. “The solutions are good for all, as they stand. There is no need to spin using ‘fact sheets’ so early on,” he had tweeted.

Following Thursday’s framework agreement, negotiators have until June 30 to reach a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

The framework accord foresees various restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment activities for the next 25 years to ensure that Iran would not be able to build a nuclear weapon. In return, the US and the EU promise to lift sanctions against Iran.

World powers group of the US, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany – known as the P5+1 – wants Iran to accept limits on its uranium enrichment capacity and allow the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its nuclear sites without interference.