Iranian FM questions US' readiness to nuke talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has questioned Washington's readiness to return to the Iran nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, and criticised its two-faced actions concerning the nuclear talks.
"The White House calls for negotiations with Iran and claims to be ready to return to the JCPOA. Yet it simultaneously imposes new sanctions on Iranian individuals & entities," Amir Abdollahian wrote on his personal Twitter account early afternoon.

"We are closely examining Mr. Biden's behaviour," he added.

On October 29, the US Department of Treasury issued sanctions against four individuals and two companies related to the unmanned aerial vehicles program of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

The upcoming Vienna talks should be "on the basis of respect for mutual interests", Amir Abdollahian stressed, noting that "the purpose of negotiations is not talking for the sake of talking, but to achieve tangible results".

The US and Iranian officials began indirect talks in Vienna this April to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, but their disagreements remained significant after six rounds of negotiations, which have been interrupted due to Iran's government transition.

To pressure Tehran, US President Joe Biden's administration has recently reiterated the window for negotiations on a return to the JCPOA will not be open forever and warned of turning to other options if diplomacy fails.


The US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 when Donald Trump was in office, and imposed sanctions on Iran.

In response, Iran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019 - IANS