Iran Intends to Continue Talks on Nuclear Deal, Country's Foreign Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran will continue negotiations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) despite Washington’s intractability, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.

"In spite of all American violations and the continuation of (former US president Donald) Trump’s approach, this train (JCPOA talks) has not yet derailed," Khatibzadeh said at a press conference, as quoted by Iranian news agency Tasnim.

If the United States agrees to lift all sanctions and start negotiations, Iran will move toward an agreement as well, the spokesman noted, adding that more sanctions against Iran will only make the situation worse for the US.

The JCPOA is a nuclear deal that Iran signed in 2015 with the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union. It required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and reduce uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief.

In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran, to which the latter responded with a gradual abandoning of its own commitments under the deal. After the change of government in the US, both countries expressed interest in reviving the deal.

Several rounds of international nuclear talks had taken place in Vienna since April 2021 before being put on hold this March.

On June 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors passed the resolution, which accuses Tehran of insufficient cooperation on nuclear safeguards.