BERN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Swiss President Alain Berset on Monday said the reimposition of sanctions against Tehran by the United States are "creating more difficulties to find a way for the future."
Speaking here to foreign correspondents based in Switzerland and referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that formalized the Iranian nuclear deal in 2015, the president said Bern supports the deal under which sanctions against Iran were lifted.
"We have always thought it's very important that there is a deal," said Berset.
Switzerland had played a role in the agreement on how to monitor Iranian nuclear power, by "offering a platform for dialogue," before the deal was reached, he said at a press conference.
Berset said he visited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this year and, "the message of this organization was that Iran is really implementing the deal."
He noted that, "Maybe there was a need for some discussions" after the deal.
Iran's signing of the JCPOA deal led to the lifting of sanctions.
However, all the U.S. sanctions against Iran that had been removed under the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal were returned by the United States on Friday and came into force on Monday.
The Swiss president noted that the U.S. sanctions move was not a surprise as the administration of President Donald Trump had said they would be re-imposed in November.
"And we just want to reaffirm, there is a need for an agreement to be implemented from all parts," he said, noting that the deal had been "working."
The U.S. embargo targets many of the country's "critical sectors" like energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and finance.
The sanctions also target transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions.
Washington had, however, blasted the Iran nuclear deal as "disastrous" and "unacceptable."
The European Union and its troika (France, Germany and Britain) on Friday jointly expressed their deep regret at Washington's reimposition of the sanctions on Iran, pledging to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Tehran.
