Zarif says UN won’t resume sanctions

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tells the Iranian parliament that economic sanctions against Tehran won’t be reinstated by the UN, Iranian media reports.

According to Zarif, a vote in favor of reintroducing sanctions would harm the UN Security Council’s standing and may prove unpopular with countries forming economic ties with the Islamic Republic in the wake of last week’s nuclear accord.

Analysts believe a number of Security Council members, including Russia and China, will not be in favor of restoring sanctions, so a danger exists that they may veto a resolution to reintroduce the embargo.

Zarif also tells parliament that from Tehran’s perspective, compromises were involved in order to achieve the deal.

“We have never claimed and do not claim that the [nuke deal] is completely to the benefit of Iran; I emphasize that negotiating is basically giving [something] and taking [something in return], and unless a significant level of the two sides’ demands are met, no agreement is reached,” Zarif says according to English-language Iranian outlet, PressTV.

“In order to meet demands,” he says, “we have had certain flexibility concerning restrictions and monitoring; this flexibility has been goal-oriented and well-calculated.”