Window of negotiations to revive nuclear deal still open, says Iran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the "window of negotiations" to revive the 2015 nuclear deal is still open from Tehran's side, the media reported.

At a weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said "the agreement is within reach" if the Western sides demonstrate the necessary determination, Xinhua news agency reported citing IRNA.

He said that Washington lost the opportunity for clinching the nuclear agreement last time under the pretext of the US midterm elections in November, when the groundwork was prepared for signing the concluded draft.

"Good opportunities were created for the nuclear deal revival and removal of anti-Iran sanctions during the previous rounds of talks between Iran and the European Union's chief negotiator as well as the one on the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in Jordan's Amman last week."

The Americans once again refused to come to the negotiating table this time, citing Iran's internal developments and some other issues, such as the Ukraine conflict, said Kanaani.

He said the concluded draft is ready to be signed, and the ball is basically in the US court, whose "un-constructive actions", such as proposing the adoption of a new anti-Tehran resolution to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have delayed the achievement of a nuclear agreement.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country.

The US, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough was achieved after the latest round of talks in early August.

--IANS

int/pgh