Iran expects US, Europe goodwill to reach agreement

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran is ready to reach a stable agreement but requires goodwill from the US and European countries, the Iranian foreign minister said on the sidelines of the United Nations summit in New York on Wednesday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to reach a good and stable agreement, but this requires goodwill, realism, and the necessary will on the part of the United States and the three European governments,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), referring to the governments of France, UK, and Germany.

Abdollahian added that “unilateral sanctions against Iran should be removed and Iran's nuclear accusation file in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be closed.”

The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization on Wednesday claimed that there were no deviations in Tehran’s nuclear program.

“According to the repeated reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are no deviations in Iran's nuclear program, so they cannot advance their goals by making noise,” Mohammad Eslami said.

Iranian state media on Tuesday reported Ebrahim Raisi as having told France’s Emmanuel Macron that the recent round of sanctions on Iran was a violation of the commitments set out in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Abdollahian and Raisi have traveled to New York to attend the high-level UN meeting and to convene with heads of state on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Several rounds of talks to revive the 2015 landmark nuclear deal in Vienna are yet to yield any result.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United States in 2015, offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for the curtailment of its nuclear program that it rapidly advanced following former US president Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from what he called the “terrible” deal in 2018, sparking concerns that Tehran is seeking to develop an atomic bomb.

US President Joe Biden addressed the UNGA on Wednesday, where he vowed that he would never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. 

Iran has on several occasions said that its nuclear program only serves a peaceful purpose.

Raisi’s agenda in New York does not include direct talks on removing sanctions for the restoration of the nuclear deal, foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters during his weekly press briefing on Monday.

However, the spokesperson said that “there would be also an opportunity for opinion exchanges on the nuclear issues and the talks to remove sanctions against Iran,” adding that international meetings serve as a good opportunity for officials of countries to hold talks on the sidelines.