2 4 Ministry: Daily coronavirus cases Daily output value of Bid Boland skyrocket to some 21,000, refinery at $9.5m: CEO over 250 cities coded red Number 6718 ● Thursday April 8, 2021 ● Farvardin 19, 1400 ● Sha’ban 25, 1442 ● Price 40,000 Rials ● 8 Pages ● www.irandaily.ir ● newspaper.irandaily.ir Rouhani: Vienna meeting opens ‘new chapter’ to save nuclear deal JCPOA parties negotiator: US sanctions to continue talks Friday must be lifted in one step

IRNA Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) and his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi hold a press conference in Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan on April 7, 2021. Iran, Kazakhstan sign agreement to reinforce cooperation Iran and Kazakhstan signed a 15-article docu- stan has played in various Iran-related issues ment for cooperation aimed at reinforcing such as the country’s nuclear program as well friendly, fraternal and neighborly relations as the Astana peace process on Syria — an between the two countries based on mutual initiative by Iran, Russia, and Turkey to me- respect and trust. diate peace negotiations between representa- The agreement was inked in Kazakhstan’s tives from the Damascus government and op- capital Nur-Sultan on Wednesday during a position groups in a series of rounds held in visit by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad the Kazakh capital Astana, recently renamed Javad Zarif to the Central Asian country. as Nur-Sultan. The document aims to expand the existing “We appreciate the pioneering role of the cooperation between, find new areas of coop- first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Naz- eration, and remove the obstacle on that path, arbayev on various issues, including in efforts Press TV reported. to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world, and REUTERS After meeting his counterpart Mukhtar Tleu- fully support him,” Zarif added. Diplomats including Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi (C) attend a JCPOA Joint Commission meeting in Vienna, Austria, on April 6, 2021. berdi, Zarif highlighted the many historical and He said regional issues, particularly the Af- cultural commonalities linking the two nations, ghan crisis, were also discussed in the meet- International Desk to get the US to lift the sanctions it na on Friday. reasonable demand by the Islamic thanking Kazakhstan for standing by the Is- ing, during which the two sides emphasized imposed on Iran after departing the The US gave an upbeat assess- Republic of Iran,” Araqchi said. lamic Republic on various global fronts. the need to respect the will of the Afghan resident Hassan Rouhani on deal in May 2018. ment of the opening session. “They (Americans) have left the “Historical, cultural, political and econom- people, democracy and ethnic balance in the Wednesday welcomed the The other working group will “We do see this as a constructive JCPOA, and they have imposed ic commonalities between Iran and Kazakh- political future of the war-torn country. Pbeginning of a “new chapter” focus on how to get Tehran back and certainly welcome step,” State sanctions. So obviously if they stan are very important and these bonds have During the talks, the two sides stressed the to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal into compliance with the limits set Department spokesman Ned Price want to come back, they will have intertwined us,” Zarif said. importance of Iran’s presence in the Eurasian signed between Iran and the world by the JCPOA on enrichment and said, according to AFP. to lift all those sanctions, all to- The top Iranian diplomat further thanked Economic Union (EAEU), and emphasis was powers, one day after signatories to stockpiles of enriched uranium. Enrique Mora, the deputy of Eu- gether, in one step.” the government and people of Kazakhstan for laid on the peaceful use of the Caspian Sea, the accord held fresh talks in Vienna The United States has been ab- ropean Union foreign policy chief The Iranian senior diplomat noted their hospitality and expressed his satisfaction jointly by Iran and Kazakhstan. in an effort to revitalize it. sent from the commission since Josep Borrell who chaired the Vi- that Iran had never sought to avoid with his meeting. Zarif is on an official visit to four Central “We are witnessing a new chap- former American president Donald enna meeting, described the event compliance with the nuclear accord, “Excellent talks were held on important re- Asian countries for talks on enhancing bilat- ter in reviving the JCPOA,” Rou- Trump took Washington out of the as “constructive”. saying if Tehran was after such a gional and international issues, and we thank eral and regional cooperation. hani said in cabinet meeting, refer- JCPOA and reimposed and rein- A spokesperson for the French goal, it would have left the deal far Kazakhstan for its support of the Islamic Repub- He has already visited Kyrgyzstan and Uz- ring to the Joint Comprehensive forced the sanctions that the nucle- Foreign Ministry welcomed the earlier after Washington quit it. lic of Iran on international fronts,” Zarif said. bekistan, with Turkmenistan being his next Plan of Action – the official name ar accord had lifted. resumption of Iran nuclear talks in He also praised the positive role Kazakh- destination. of the Iran nuclear deal. The US was not present at Tues- Vienna, saying: “The ongoing ne- ‘Effective removal’ “Today, a unanimous voice is day’s discussions because Iran has gotiations should allow [the partic- heard,” said the president, adding refused to meet the US delegation ipants] to soon reach an agreement The Iranian Foreign Ministry that all concerned parties “have so long as its sanctions remain in on the actions necessary to bring spokesman also said on Wednes- Iran to investigate come to the conclusion that there is place. Iran and the United States back to day the only path for the United no better solution than the JCPOA Rouhani said the US wants to full compliance with the nuclear States to rejoin ‎the JCPOA is “ef- and that there is no other way but “repent” and reenter the nuclear agreement.” fective removal of all sanctions”. cause of vessel blast in the full implementation of the nu- deal. “The only US ‘path back’ to the An Iranian freighter was hit by an explosion in escort commercial vessels”. clear deal”. “If the US demonstrates enough Sanctions must be lifted in one step Deal is: full compliance & effec- the Red Sea, Tehran said Wednesday, a day af- According to specialist website, MarineTraf- On Tuesday, representatives of seriousness and necessary sincer- tive removal of ALL imposed, re- ter media reports said that the ship had been at- fic, the Saviz is a general cargo ship owned by Iran, Russia, China, France, Brit- ity, that’s all we ask... I think we’ll After the meeting, Iran’s nego- imposed & relabeled sanctions,” tacked with limpet mines. Iran’s state shipping firm IRISL. ain and the European Union held be able to negotiate in a short time, tiator Seyyed Abbas Araqchi told Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted. The blast struck the Iranian commercial vessel In a similar incident last month, an Iranian the 18th meeting of the JCPOA if necessary, with the other parties Press TV that the United States “Only after that, we’ll stop our MV Saviz off the coast of on Tuesday cargo ship was damaged after it was targeted in Joint Commission in the Austrian to the deal,” he said. must lift its sanctions altogether remedial measures,” he added, morning, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed an attack en route to Europe in the Mediterra- capital during which they agreed “The US can fulfill its commit- and in one step if it truly seeks to pointing to the countermeasures Khatibzadeh said, nean Sea. to establish two working groups, ments without negotiation.” rejoin the JCPOA. taken by Iran one year after the US adding an inquiry had Tehran said back one of which would focus on how The talks are to resume in Vien- “That is quite logical and a very pullout. been opened into the then that such “acts cause. of terror” are a clear “The accident example of naval pi- caused no casualties racy and run counter and a technical investi- to international law on Iran nuclear chief: Enrichment capacity hits 16,500 SWUs gation is under way to the safety of commer- National Desk Iran’s Parliament passed a law last determine its circum- cial vessels, Press TV year that obliges the government to stances and origin,” wrote. Head of the Atomic Energy Organi- harden its nuclear stance, in reaction the spokesman said, On February 25, zation of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Sale- to former president ’s according to AFP. an explosion struck hi said on Wednesday that the coun- withdrawal from the nuclear deal in “Our country will Israeli-owned and the try’s uranium enrichment capacity 2018. take all necessary steps through international Bahamas-flagged ship, the MV Helios Ray, in has reached 16,500 separative work The law required Iran to start en- bodies in this regard.” the Sea of Oman near the strategic mouth of the units (SWUs). riching to 20% and stipulated that Khatibzadeh said the Saviz was a civilian ves- Persian Gulf. Speaking to reporters on the side- at least 120kg of uranium refined to sel that had been deployed in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lines of a cabinet meeting in Tehran, that level be made each year, which the International Maritime Organization to pro- accused Iran of attacking the ship. Iran categori- Salehi said Iran’s enrichment capacity amounts to 10kg a month, Reuters tect shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. cally rejected the charge. was about 13,000 SWUs before sign- wrote. Many foreign governments have stationed Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations ing the 2015 nuclear deal which put Iran’s production rate is already protection vessels in the area since a rash of at- Majid Takht-Ravanchi, in a letter addressed curbs on the country’s nuclear work. “up to 40%” faster than that, AEOI tacks by Somali pirates between 2000 and 2010. to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on SWU is the standard measure of AP spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi in- “This ship has been serving as Iran’s logistics March 5, warned of consequences of any pos- the effort required to separate iso- dicated on Wednesday. station – for technical and logistical support – in sible miscalculated measure by over the topes of uranium during an enrichment pro- IR2M which have boosted the country’s ura- A quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear activi- the Red Sea,” the spokesman added. explosion. cess. One SWU is equivalent to one kilogram nium enrichment capacity, IRNA reported. ties by the UN nuclear watchdog in Febru- Overnight Tasnim News Agency reported that “The incident has all the characteristic of a of separative work. Salehi said Iran has produced 55kg of ura- ary said that as of Feb. 16, Iran had produced the Saviz had been damaged by magnetic mines. complicated false flag operation carried out by “Currently the capacity stands at 16,500 nium enriched to up to 20% and plans to in- 17.6kg of uranium enriched up to 20%, with The Iranian media outlet said the ship had actors in order to pursue their malign policies SWUs,” said the nuclear chief, adding Iran is crease to 120kg by the end of the current Irani- the next level down being enriched between been stationed in the Red Sea for several years and to advance their illegitimate objectives,” now using advanced centrifuges IR4, IR6 and an calendar year (ending on March 20, 2022). 2% and 5%. “in support of Iranian commandos deployed to Takht-Ravanchi said.