EU, US should announce lifting of sanctions 'legally': Iran

Iran's senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that EU and the US should officially and "legally" announce the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic republic before the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to state IRIB TV.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will issue a joint statement on the adoption of the nuclear deal, if the law of lifting sanctions against the country is approved by Europe and the United States, Araqchi was quoted as saying.

According to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers reached on July 14 in the Austrian capital of Vienna, the process of removal of sanctions against Iran should be carried out in two stages, Araqchi said.

In the first stage, the removal of sanctions by the United States and Europe takes legal dimension, and in the second stage, the law will come into effect after the measures are completed by Iran and the other party predicted in JCPOA.

According to the agreement, Iran would downsize its capacity for uranium enrichment and do changes in the structure of its heavy water reactor.

The country's measures should be confirmed by the UN nuclear watchdog before the removal of western and international sanctions.

"We are waiting for the Europe and the United States to take legal measures of removing sanctions. Whenever they approve the law to lift or stop sanctions, a joint statement will be issued by Zarif and Mogherini," Araqchi said.