TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian cleric said Friday that the Vienna talks are aimed at lifting "all sanctions" against the Islamic republic, Tasnim news agency reported.
"The bottom line (of negotiations) is lifting all sanctions, especially banking and trade sanctions," said Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayers leader of the Iranian capital Tehran.
If these sanctions are not lifted, "it is as if no negotiations had taken place," he added.
Senior Iranian officials have urged the western countries' to decide on the removal of anti-Iran sanctions and promise to fulfill their commitments under a possible agreement.
Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015. However, former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran.
Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, to revive the deal. ■
