Iran says sanctions removal to be on agenda of Vienna nuke meeting

TEHRAN - The full removal of US sanctions against Iran will be on agenda of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Vienna, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.

"The path is clear. All US sanctions must be removed at once," Khatibzadeh said during his press conference.

After Iran verifies US sanction removal measures, it will be ready to reverse its measures pertaining to the suspension of its commitments taken because of the opposite sides' violation of the deal, he added.

The spokesman ruled out any plan for the step-by-step removal of anti-Iran sanctions by the United States.

Besides, the discussions in Vienna meeting would be around the fulfilment of obligations by the other parties to the deal to safeguard Iran's agreement interests, Khatibzadeh added.

The administration of former US president Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed sanctions against Iran in May 2018.

One year later, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments.

The two countries are in a standoff over reviving the nuclear deal. The Joe Biden administration has said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, Washington would do the same. Iran insists its full compliance will only take place once US sanctions are removed.