Iran said Friday it has agreed to participate in a meeting in Austria’scapital next week on the nuclear deal, but denied any meeting with the US.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran and otherparticipants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreedduring a virtual meeting to resume nuclear talks in Vienna next Tuesday.
Zarif said that the aim of the meeting is to “rapidly finalizesanction-lifting and nuclear measures for choreographed removal of allsanctions, followed by Iran ceasing remedial measures.”
No Iran-US meeting will be held as part of next week’s talks Zarif said,calling it “unnecessary.”
JCPOA , commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 byIran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany and the EU.
The statement came after Iranian officials and other JCPOA participantsheld Friday a virtual meeting to discuss US’ return to the Iran nucleardeal.
The US said Friday it has agreed to participate in indirect nuclear talksstarting next week with Iran in a potential major breakthrough that couldend a months-long impasse.
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US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said that for now there wouldnot be any direct talks with Iran, and the US would instead engage in talks”with our European, Russian, and Chinese partners.”
Those talks will be focused on identifying “the issues involved in a mutualreturn to compliance with” the 2015 nuclear accord, Price said in astatement sent to Anadolu Agency.
While the Biden administration does not presently anticipate holding anydirect talks with Iran, Price said the US “remains open to them.”
President Joe Biden has long expressed an interest in resuming USparticipation in the deal. His predecessor, Donald Trump, chose tounilaterally withdraw from the agreement in 2018, and went on to impose USsanctions on Iran lifted under the deal.
In retaliation, Tehran took steps away from the nuclear restrictions itagreed to in a bid to ramp up pressure on the deal’s remaining participantsto maintain their commitments.
