The Iranian Foreign Minister says international sanctions on Iran will gradually be lifted in the New Year.
The Mehr News Agency reported that Ali Akbar Salehi told a news conference on Sunday March 10: “I have some information that cannot be revealed just yet, but the coming year will be a promising year for the gradual lifting of the sanctions.”
Western countries have yet to confirm that the sanctions they’ve imposed on Iran will be eased.
Ramin Mehmanparast, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said last week that the Foreign Minister’s positive statements regarding the gradual lifting of sanctions were connected with the positive developments at the Almaty talks, which took place in late February, and should the negotiations continue in a similar manner, sanctions are bound to disappear.
Iran’s nuclear negotiators met with the G5+1 in Kazakhstan on February 26 and 27 and, after the talks, both sides appeared positive about the outcome, although no concrete agreement has yet been achieved.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden once again repeated the threat that the military option against Iran is still on the table, and the new U.S. foreign secretary also said, following the talks in Almaty, that Iran has a limited time in which to comply with western demands.
Iranian officials have remained optimistic about the negotiations, which are continue this month as technical experts from both sides meet. After that, the two main delegations will have another meeting in Almaty in April.
