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In a televised interview, Araqchi said he had witnessed Europe's seriousness in advancing negotiations with Iran but was not sure about the Europeans' ability to realize Iran's demands.
Head of the expert team for negotiations with Europe said 'In the first place, the Europeans should clarify how they are going to meet Iran's demands. The leaders of three European countries have said they will prepare a package of proposals for Iran in the economic domain. This package in fact contains practical solutions. Some sanctions must be lifted with tangible economic impacts.'
Araqchi said the Europeans are going to determine a series of practical solutions on Iranian oil and gas sales as well as banking issues as two key points envisioned in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In the second Place, Araqchi said, they should say how they are going to give guarantees as is the case of the conditions set by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They should give assurances that their promises would be materialized without delays or cases of non-commitments, he added.
In response to a question, the deputy foreign minister said the country's missile program is the red line of the Iranian negotiating team and no talks will be held on the issue.
He said Iran has agreed to hold talks with the four European countries on the issue of Yemen on humanitarian grounds and due to the sufferings of the Yemeni people.
Referring to US President Donald Trump's efforts over the past 16 months to exit from the JCPOA, Araqchi said 'He (Trump) initially tried to prepare the ground (for withdrawal from the deal) and make the Islamic Republic pay the price. But we did not fall into his trap and said if Trump wanted to leave the JCPOA he himself had to pay the price. He then threw the ball into the ground of the Congress but to no avail.'
Araqchi said when it was clear that Trump intended to exit the JCPOA, the Europeans asked Iran to give them some time to make their efforts so that they might meet its demands.
Their message was conveyed at the highest level and the esteemed president of Iran decided to give them a few weeks and this is why the Iranian negotiating team is engaged in holding negotiations with them, Araqchi said.
After Trump announced his withdrawal from the Iran deal, there was a chaos in the stands of the Europeans because their assumption until the last minutes was that the US would stay in the deal and would give diplomacy a chance. 'However, they did not expect such a sudden and straightforward exist on the part of the US and for this reason we heard very contradictory interpretations from the Europeans.'
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