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Mojtaba Zonnour, Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Iran's Majles discussed Iranian terms for a return to the JCPOA and negotiations over the Iranian missile program in an interview that aired on Al-Alam TV (Iran) on January 27, 2021. He said that if Biden wants to return to the JCPOA, this would mean that the Americans must fulfill their commitments. Zonnour elaborated that America must lift the sanctions that were imposed on Iran, and after this the time will come for America to compensate Iran for the damages it incurred because of the sanctions. He continued to say that there will be no negotiations on Iran's defensive and deterrent missile capabilities unless the missile power and defensive capabilities of America, the West, and Israel are removed. Zonnour referred also to the South Korean ship that is held by Iran, saying that Iran is not holding the South Korean ship in order to pressure Seoul to release Iranian frozen funds, however, if South Korea does release the funds, this would be considered a show of their "good will," and it may encourage Iran to think about helping South Korea release its ship. For more about Mojtaba Zonnour, see MEMRI TV clips No. 7544 and 7330.
Mojtaba Zonnour: "We believe that Mr. Biden's return to the [JCPOA] agreement... The agreement is not just a room, which Biden can [simple] enter [after] being outside. Returning to the agreement means implementing their commitments. If they implement their commitments, then... They had commitments according to the agreement, and Trump withdrew from it. They must return to them.
"Secondly, the boycotts that were imposed upon us, and the sanctions that were imposed on us after the agreement – they must repeal all of them and return things to the way they were – that will be their return. After they return [to the JCPOA], the time will come for us to demand [compensation] for the damages we incurred. They have to compensate us for our damages. We will never make even the smallest compromise on [the compensation for] the damages we incurred because of the sanctions that they imposed upon us after the agreement.
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"We will never allow anyone to negotiate about our defensive deterrence capabilities, be it within the framework of the agreement or outside of it.
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"If there are negotiations, they should be rational. American and Western missile power and defensive capabilities should be removed, then the Israeli missile power and defensive capabilities should be removed, and only then may they approach us about it."
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Interviewer: "Some people believe that Iran is detaining the [South Korean] ship in order to pressure Seoul to release its frozen funds there. Is this true?"
Zonnour: "Not at all."
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"But if the Koreans keep their commitments and act rationally, and if they release our funds, then they will prove their good will. Such a sign of good will may give hope to the Islamic Republic, or it may encourage it to think about helping [South Korea] to release its ship."
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