Shamkhani made the remarks in Tehran during a meeting with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani whose country last week hosted the latest round of talks over the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions against Tehran.
Those sanctions took effect in May 2018 and were followed by more measures after the US withdrew from the Iran deal, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the JCPOA.
The top Iranian security official called the sanctions cruel and said that they should be removed in the way that all countries, while protecting their interests in the long term, can easily make investment in Iran.
He said that Iran entered the JCPOA revival talks with the aim of reaching an agreement, adding that the country will remain committed to diplomacy with a serious determination until its lawful rights are upheld.
Shamkhani and the Qatari foreign minister discussed other issues, including regional developments as well.
The Iranian official said that Tehran’s policy is always based on developing relations with the neighboring countries, accompanied by good neighborliness, and that the Islamic Republic attaches importance to protecting security of all countries and their national sovereignty.
Shamkhani also referred to the security situation in the West Asia region, saying that terrorism and Zionism are two main factors creating insecurity in the region.
He added, any coalition with the Zionist regime, even being non-security and non-military, threatens the security and stability in the region.
The Qatari minister, for his part, stressed the necessity of keeping talks among regional countries in order to speed up the development of relations.
He also said that Qatar supports the sanctions-removal talks and called on all parties to accept their commitments and return to the JCPOA.
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