President: Way of JCPOA talks with EU not closed by Iran

President Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok in Tehran on Saturday.

Noting that Iran has not closed the way for dialogue with the European Union on JCPOA, the Iranian president referred to good and friendly relations between the two countries over the past centuries and stated that Tehran is interested in developing political and economic ties with the Netherlands.

President Rouhani noted that Iran's foreign policy is based on constructive engagement with the countries and "we are interested in warming relations with the European Union".

Referring to the imposition of unilateral US sanctions on Iran, the Iranian president said that the cruel US sanctions even cover the food and medicine of the Iranian people, and "we expect the free nations of the world to condemn the illegal sanctions".

"We believe that the nuclear deal was in the best interest of the region and the world and that the US action would be detrimental to everyone and even the American people themselves, and unfortunately during the past 21 months of US’ exit of the JCPOA, the European Union has failed to take an effective step towards bilateral relations and fulfill its commitments to the JCPOA.

The president also underlined that the root cause of insecurity in the region is US' presence and behavior and said the Iraqi parliament had voted the US to leave the country, the presence of US troops in Syria was contrary to the rules and demands of the government and in other countries, including Afghanistan, for example, the people are opposed to the presence of Americans in their country.

Rouhani reiterated that if the US abandons its terrorist acts and interference, "our region will naturally be safe".

During the meeting, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok emphasized the development of relations between the two countries in all fields, including economic relations, and expressed his hope that his country would be able to play a more active role and participation in INSTEX, referring to his meetings with representatives of Dutch companies in Tehran.

"We have openly and privately told Americans that leaving the JCPOA was not the right thing to do," said Stef Blok, stressing the need to preserve the JCPOA as an international agreement.

The Dutch Foreign Minister stated that his country would work to preserve the JCPOA and stated that to this end we need to continue the dialogue and negotiation can be the solution to problems and disputes.

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