Iran
The Palais Coburg hotel where closed-door nuclear talks take place in the Austrian capital of Vienna on August 5, 2022. Photo: Florian Schroetter/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A proposed “final text” to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal must ensure its rights are preserved as well as a “sustainable” removal of sanctions against the country, Iran's foreign minister said late Monday.
"The Iranian negotiating team attended the talks with determination and seriousness to reach an agreement, presenting constructive ideas to resolve the remaining issues," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a phone call, adding that the final agreement "should uphold Iran's rights and guarantee a sustainable removal of the sanctions" against the country.
Abdollahian expressed hope that a final agreement can be reached provided that signatories maintain a realistic approach and sway away from "unconstructive stances," explicitly pointing fingers at the US.
The "final text" to restore the nuclear accord back on track was proposed by the EU earlier on Monday, as delegations from the EU, Iran, and the US prepare to leave Vienna after the latest round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran were concluded.
"What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it is now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals," Borrell tweeted on Monday.
The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United States in 2015, offering Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to ensure it does not enrich enough uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran however has repeatedly denied any allegations that it wants nuclear weapons, and Abdollahian reiterated the denial on Sunday, saying that nuclear weapons contradict Iran's "doctrine."
Under former president Donald Trump, the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and imposed biting sanctions on the Islamic republic, with successor Joe Biden keen to roll back on his former's commitments.
Iran and the US have previously engaged in indirect EU-mediated talks in Doha aimed at bridging the gap closer to reviving the accord, but the talks displayed no fruition.
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