Nuclear agreement within reach if US side 'realistic': Iran's FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has urged the US to be "realistic" to help reach an agreement in Vienna talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Iranian diplomat said on Monday in a tweet that "the excessive demands" of the US could lead to a pause in the Vienna negotiation as Iran will "never give in" to such demands, Xinhua news agency reported.

Amir-Abdollahian also pointed out that "an agreement can be reached if the United States is realistic".

Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the US should be responsible for protraction in Vienna talks.

Iran signed the JCPOA with the world powers in July 2015. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the Islamic republic to scale back some of its nuclear commitments under the agreement in retaliation.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany to revive the deal.

Over the past weeks, reports from Vienna suggested that the negotiators were "close" to an agreement with few key issues remaining which required "political decisions" of the parties.

--IANS

int/khz/