US in No Position to Set Conditions for Iran in JCPOA Talks: Top Negotiator
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Ali Baqeri, Iran’s top negotiator in the talks on saving the 2015 nuclear deal, said the United States is in no position to set conditions for the Islamic Republic in the negotiations.
The negotiations are aimed at laying down the necessary condition for the return of the US to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, he told Pasquale Ferrara, General Director for Political Affairs and International Security at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday,
Baqeri added, “As a result, the US cannot set conditions for Iran, which is a signatory to the agreement.”
As for the future course of the talks, he said during the upcoming discussions, the seriousness and genuineness of the US’ will to reach a deal will be put to a test.
In their talks, Baqeri and Ferrara underlined the need for paving the way to develop bilateral relations in all spheres.
The Iranian team of negotiators, led by Baqeri, left Tehran for Austria’s capital of Vienna later on Wednesday to proceed with the talks on the removal of sanctions and revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani, the new round of talks, coordinated by the European Union like before, will focus on the ideas proposed by the involved parties, including the ideas that the Islamic Republic has put forward this week.
Reaffirming Iran’s determination to strike a durable agreement that would guarantee the Iranian nation’s rights and safeguard its interests, the spokesman expressed hope that the other parties would pave the way for effective progress in the negotiations by making the necessary decisions and concentrating on the outstanding issues.
In July 2015, Iran signed the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers, agreeing to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. However, former US president Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to abandon some of the pact's commitments.
The talks on reviving the JCPOA began in Vienna in April 2021 but were suspended in March of this year due to political differences between Tehran and Washington.
The talks resumed in late June in Qatar's capital, Doha, after a three-month hiatus, but failed to resolve the differences.