Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri-Kani

Iran’s chief negotiator describes the removal of the US’s illegal and inhumane sanctions as the main purpose of the upcoming talks in Vienna between the Islamic Republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal with the country.

Our main objective is to remove the illegal sanctions that they have imposed on the Iranian nation in breach of UN resolutions, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri-Kani told The Guardian on Thursday.

The official is in London as part of a series of visits to the European capitals in the run-up to the November 29 talks.

The talks would be the seventh round to go underway in the Austrian capital to explore the potential of elimination of the sanctions that the United States reimposed in 2018 after leaving the historic nuclear deal --officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Apart from breaching the JCPOA, the US’s departure and its re-introduction of the sanctions are in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorses the nuclear agreement.

Any sanctions in breach of the JCPOA imposed by President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump have to be lifted, Baqeri-Kani added, referring respectively to the American chief executives, who entered Washington into the nuclear deal and took it out of the accord.

The Iranian official, meanwhile, ruled out that the negotiations could include any discussion about Iran’s missile and security program, The Guardian wrote.

The JCPOA has a clear framework and other issues are not relevant. We are not going to negotiate on our defense capabilities or our security, he said.