Iran says to remain committed to nuclear negotiations

TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday that the Islamic republic's stance toward the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal is quite clear, and Tehran will remain committed to the negotiation process for resolving the differences.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a press conference in reaction to the comments by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Colonna warned there are only a few weeks remaining before the closure of the window of opportunity to revive the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), accusing Iran of using delaying tactics and going back on previously agreed positions during the talks in Doha earlier this month, while forging ahead with its uranium enrichment program.

Without Tehran's efforts, "the window of diplomacy would not remain open until now," Kanaani said, adding it is the United States that has pulled out of the deal and refrained from carrying out its obligations.

Nuclear negotiations are continuing either through exchanging indirect messages or talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, as well as their deputies Ali Bagheri Kani and Enrique Mora, he noted, adding that the date and venue for the new round of the negotiations will soon be determined.

Kanaani expressed hope that all European parties would adopt a constructive approach, helping the talks to bear fruit.

Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

After a three-month pause, the talks resumed recently in the Qatari capital Doha but failed to result in any agreement to settle the remaining differences.