Exchange of messages on revival of 2015 nuclear deal continues: Iran

Exchange of messages among different parties to revive a 2015 nuclear deal continues through different channels, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

The absence of formal negotiations on the revival of the deal does not mean an absence of interactions or message exchanges among the parties to the nuclear talks, Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted Nasser Kanaani as saying during a weekly press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is interacting with the talks' different sides, including both Iran and the US, said Kanaani.

The spokesman said Iran is resolving the nuclear issue and seeking the removal of the US sanctions within diplomatic frameworks.

While ruling out the possibility of direct talks between Iranian and US officials, Kanaani said Iran will wait and see what the other sides would do in practice and to what extent they would cooperate constructively.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country. The US, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough has been achieved after the latest round of talks in August 2022.

--IANS

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