Iran urges U.S. to quit sanctions addiction if seeking to reach nuclear agreement

TEHRAN, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday urged the United States to quit its addiction to sanctions and display "constructive" behavior if it seeks to reach an agreement on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal, according to official news agency IRNA.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks in an address to a weekly press conference, adding that Washington's imposition of fresh sanctions against Tehran indicates that the U.S. government is suffering from inconsistency and paradox and fails to have the political will for continuing the nuclear negotiations.

He noted that the talks on the nuclear deal's revival and sanctions' removal are continuing through the European Union (EU) as the negotiations' coordinator, saying the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York provided a good opportunity for talks on the issues and indirect messages were exchanged between Tehran and Washington on its sidelines.

Iran is still committed to achieving a "good and robust" agreement as well as a favorable result and has submitted its response to the EU's proposed final draft of a potential nuclear agreement.

Kanaani assured that the process of exchanging messages is continuing, and Iran has presented its conclusion about the negotiations to the EU.

It is still possible to reach an agreement and resume the nuclear deal's implementation, he said, emphasizing that once the American side shows its political will, the agreement can be achieved in a short period of time.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus.

On Aug. 8, the EU put forward its final text of the draft decision on reviving the JCPOA. Iran and the United States later indirectly exchanged views on the proposal in a process that has so far failed to produce any favorable outcome.