Iran said on Wednesday that Washington has agreed during talks to revive the nuclear deal with Tehran to lift all oil and shipping sanctions imposed on it and to remove some prominent individuals from the blacklist. The statements by the head of the office of outgoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani align with previous confirmations from officials in Rouhani's pragmatic camp that Washington is prepared to make significant concessions during the negotiations that have been ongoing in Vienna since April and are currently in a break.
The talks entered a break on Sunday, two days after the presidential elections in Iran, won by Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the judiciary and a hardline conservative whose name is on the U.S. blacklist. Raisi is set to take office in August.
Iranian state media reported Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of Rouhani's office, as saying: "An agreement has been reached to lift all insurance, oil, and shipping sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump." He added, "About 1,040 sanctions dating from the Trump era will be lifted under the agreement. It has also been agreed to lift some sanctions on individuals and members of the Supreme Leader's close circle."
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that there is still "a significant distance to be covered" concerning the sanctions and the commitments Iran must make. Other Western and Iranian officials have mentioned that the talks are still far from completion.
Iran agreed in 2015 to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Trump withdrew from the agreement three years later and re-imposed sanctions on Iran's energy sector, prompting refineries in many countries to avoid Iranian crude oil and forcing Tehran to cut its production significantly below its capacity. In response, Iran violated some nuclear restrictions.
Four traders and sources in the oil industry have stated that Iran could quickly export millions of barrels of oil that it has extracted and stored if it reaches an agreement with the United States on its nuclear program, and it is working to transport oil in preparation for eventually resuming sales in the market.
In his first press conference after his election, Raisi stated on Monday that his priorities would be to improve relations with regional neighbors and revive the 2015 nuclear deal, while at the same time ruling out a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. He also said, "We support negotiations that ensure our national interests." The hardline cleric, who is under U.S. sanctions, added, "America must return immediately to the deal and fulfill its obligations under the agreement."
