Minister: Iran will return to nuclear talks “very soon”

UNITED NATIONS – Iran’s new foreign minister said Friday the country would return to nuclear negotiations “very soon” but accused the Biden government of sending conflicting messages – and said it wanted to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal while imposing new sanctions imposed on Tehran and refused to accept “an iota of positive action.”

Hossain Amir Abdollah said the administration, which took power last month, believes President Joe Biden “continues to carry the thick files of Trump sanctions on Iran in his heart even as he appears to be negotiating.”

Former President Donald Trump routinely denounced the nuclear deal as “the worst deal ever negotiated” and withdrew from the deal in 2018 after putting the other parties – Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and Iran – on board had brought with additional restrictions. After his withdrawal, Trump launched what he called what he called a “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran by reimposing and adding penalties to all US sanctions eased under the agreement.

In a media briefing on Iran’s new foreign policy, Amir Abdollah was very skeptical of the real intentions of the Biden government and stressed that deeds are more important than “empty but beautiful wordsâ€, as well as “the behavior†and “behavior†of the Biden government United States versus Iran.

The top Iranian diplomat sharply criticized the additional sanctions imposed by the Biden government, as well as the refusal to give Iran the green light to access millions of dollars of its money frozen in South Korea and Japanese banks for COVID-19 vaccines and buying medicines, suddenly telling the UK to stop paying its 42-year debt.

Recalling that Iranians have a long, rich history and ancient civilization, Amir Abdollah said: “The United States of America must speak to the Iranian people with a civilized tone and language, not the language of threats , pressure and sanctions. â€The last 42 years since the Iranian revolution have“ made it clear that the language of threats against the great people of Iran will not work â€.

Biden and his team have made a US return to the deal one of their top foreign policy priorities. The deal was one of President Barack Obama’s major achievements, one that now aides in the Biden administration had helped negotiate and that Trump was trying to dismantle.

The Biden government on Thursday pleaded with Iran to quickly return to talks on its nuclear program, which were suspended in June ahead of the Iranian elections, warning that the negotiating window might close soon.

A senior government official, who briefed reporters on condition that he was not named, said US patience is waning and that further delays while Iran continues to upgrade its nuclear capabilities, including upgrading uranium to higher levels, Getting Washington and its partners to return to the groundbreaking nuclear deal is no longer worthwhile.

Amir Abdollah said the new government is reviewing the files of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna and will return to the talks because constructive negotiations can lead to “tangible, verifiable results”.

The Foreign Minister said Iran expects all parties to return to the Vienna negotiations and then verifiably fulfill their obligations under the 2015 agreement.

Amir Abdollah stressed that the United States “should step in – constructive action, measurable action”.

“There is no doubt,” he said, “that the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be tied if they want to continue their previous language towards Iran and their previous behavior towards Iran.”

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Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington