WORLD / MID-EAST
No change in Iran’s stance over nuclear negotiations: Foreign Minister
Published: Sep 15, 2022 09:07 PM
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that Iran's position in the negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal has not been changed.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an Instagram report about his telephone conversation with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Hamad al-Busaidi.

Noting that Iran and other negotiating parties have made a lot of efforts to reach an agreement over the past few months, Amir-Abdollahian told ­Al-Busaidi that "Iran has always adhered to the process of dialogue and exchange of messages to lift sanctions, and the only obstacle to an agreement is the lack of realism and necessary determination on the part of America."

Iran has repeatedly shown "sufficient determination and goodwill" necessary to achieve a good, strong and stable agreement, and "there has been no change in Iran's positions," ­Amir-Abdollahian said.

For his part, Al-Busaidi emphasized the importance of reaching an agreement and returning all parties to their commitments.

Iran and the US have been indirectly exchanging views about a recent EU proposal aimed at resolving the outstanding issues on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Iran signed the deal with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former US president Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in ­Vienna, the capital of Austria, but were suspended in March 2022 because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus. On August 8, the EU put forward a "final text" of the draft decision on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.