Iranian FM says Vienna talks underway through exchange of written messages
May 04, 2022
Tehran [Iran], May 4: Iranian top diplomat said Tuesday that negotiations over reviving a 2015 nuclear deal are underway through the exchanges of written messages.
Making the remarks in an interview with Yemen's Arabic-language Al-Masirah television network, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the talks in Vienna have not stopped.
They are going on in a process to lift the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran, through the exchange of written messages with the Americans via the European Union's representative, he noted.
The chief Iranian diplomat said his country seeks to reach a "strong" and "lasting" agreement through the talks, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
"We urged the American side to be realistic," he was quoted as saying, adding that removing sanctions in all areas and receiving economic guarantees are among the priorities on the Iranian negotiating team's agenda.
In 2015, Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers, including the United States. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, including freezing some of Iran's assets abroad, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments.
Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties to revive the deal.
Source: Xinhua
