A senior Iranian diplomat said the United States must provide guarantees that Washington will not abandon again the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers if the Vienna talks to revive the landmark agreement succeed.
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States, which stalled in June after the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, are set to resume on Nov. 29 in the Austrian capital to find ways to reinstate the deal that Washington left three years ago and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran.
Echoing Iran’s official stance in a press briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Washington must lift all sanctions imposed on Tehran by former US president Donald Trump in a verifiable process.
He stressed that the US must “recognize its fault in ditching the accord,” IRNA reported.
The spokesman also said Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Baqeri, who is also Iran’s top negotiator in the Vienna talks, will go on a European tour later this week, which will take him to Britain, France, Germany, and probably Spain, to discuss Middle East issues and efforts to restore the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Meanwhile, Yonhap news agency reported that South Korea’s vice foreign minister has talked over phone with the US special envoy on Iran and exchanged views on the ongoing efforts to resume the nuclear talks with Tehran.
Choi Jong-kun, first vice minister of foreign affairs, and Robert Malley discussed the issue, as world powers and Tehran are set to resume negotiations later this month, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
Malley shared the latest development on the nuclear talks, and Choi reaffirmed Seoul’s willingness to provide support for the diplomatic efforts, the ministry said without elaboration.
Although South Korea is not part of the historic accord, the allies have maintained communication on the matter, especially with Iranian assets frozen in South Korea under renewed US sanctions.
About US$7 billion worth of Iranian assets remain locked in South Korean banks under US sanctions that were put back in place following Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the multilateral nuclear pact.
