Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani says there is no obstacle to the resumption and finalization of the talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement if the sides adopt a realistic approach and avoid previous mistakes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no obstacle to resuming negotiations and finalizing an agreement if the other parties act realistically and prevent repeating the past mistakes,” Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran’s chief negotiator, said on Monday.
He reaffirmed the Iranian administration’s seriousness to pursue the talks to revive the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and remove the sanctions re-imposed on the country following the unilateral US withdrawal from the agreement three years after its conclusion.
“The [Iranian] administration has never blocked the path to diplomacy, negotiations and efforts to secure the national interests through achievement of a balanced agreement,” the senior diplomat said.
Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the JCPOA with six world powers. However, Washington’s exit in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.
Multilateral diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA have been stalled since August 2022, with Iran blaming the United States for failing to guarantee that it will not leave the deal again.
Iran has repeatedly said that the JCPOA revival is possible if the US and the European signatories to the agreement — Britain, France and Germany — have the will to reach that aim, warning that the opportunity will not last forever.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Bagheri Kani stressed the need for constant vigilance and prudence in foreign policy, maintaining that sustainable security and development hinge on remaining committed to ideals and values.
The senior diplomat emphasized that Iran’s ‘Look East’ policy of strengthening ties with neighboring countries and Eastern powers is not tantamount to overlooking the capacities elsewhere in the world.
Europe has never been and would never be on the “black list” of Iran’s foreign relations and Tehran welcomes European countries’ role in its development plans, he said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has always emphasized that the country’s development, progress and prosperity as well as people’s welfare should not be tied to the will and decision of a few Western countries, he added.
