US ready to resume talks on Iran nuclear deal – Argus Media

The Biden administration has expressed interest in resuming Iranian nuclear deal negotiations, Argus Media reports, citing comments from Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

PHOTO: US and Irani flags. Getty Images

Amir-Abdollahian recently visited Iraq to discuss regional and international issues. He has claimed that during his conversation with Iraq's foreign minister Faud Hussein, he was informed about US willingness to reach an agreement on a nuclear deal, Argus Media reported.

The message from the US was passed to him from Hussein, who recently went to the US for a state visit, Amir-Abdollahian said.

The US Department of State, meanwhile, has yet to confirm if it is ready to restore talks.

“We seek and declare that it is important for Iraq that both parties, the Iranian and the American, reach an understanding, and we hope that the two parties will return to their talks in Vienna to reach final results,” Hussein said during a joint Iran-Iraq press conference held on Sunday.

US and Iranian counterparts have held several indirect talks in Vienna to reach a consensus on a revised nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

JCPOA was originally agreed upon between the US, Iran, China, Russia, the UK and the EU in 2015, which allowed sanctions on Iran to be lifted in exchange for restrictions on Iran's uranium enrichment programme. In 2018, the then US President Donald Trump withdrew the deal, saying that it lacked credibility. As a result, Iran was again subjected to sanctions, which are still in place today.  

Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are set to visit Iran in the coming days, Amir-Abdollahian said at the press conference. He is confident that the IAEA’s director general Rafael Grossi and officials from Iran’s atomic energy department will reach an understanding during the visit.

Amir-Abdollahian further emphasised that Iran will stick to its terms of the nuclear deal. “But if the American side takes a different route, we are ready to execute our plan B and take a different route,” he added.

Last year, the US administration blamed Iran for stalling a new nuclear deal.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Iran's uranium enrichment programme is very close to developing a nuclear bomb.

By Nithin Chandran

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online