Hossein Amir-Abdollahian — © AP
Iran is in contact with the United States to restart negotiations on its nuclear program, Iranian media reported on Sunday. The Iranian newspaper Shargh writes that the Iranian UN delegation in New York is coordinating the talks.
Source: BELGA
Today at 5:12 PM
According to Shargh, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister is no longer leading the negotiations, but Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iranavani is. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed on Saturday that the nuclear deal was also discussed during his stay in New York. However, he provided no further details. He did say that Iran is interested in a “diplomatic solution” to the conflicts in the Middle East.
Iran had promised to limit its nuclear program in 2015 after concluding an international nuclear deal. In return, Western sanctions were lifted. The pact was intended to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. After the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, Tehran rolled back the restrictions. Iran reportedly wants to use the recent military conflict with arch-enemy Israel to revive the agreement.
In exchange for the de-escalation demanded by the West, there would be new nuclear negotiations. Iran wants to ease the sanctions that are paralyzing the country. The planned visit to Iran by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should probably be seen in the same context.
At the same time, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday praised the “success” of the armed forces in the large-scale attack on Israel last weekend. He said the attack with more than 350 drones and missiles, which was largely repulsed by Israel and its allies, illustrates Iran’s “grandeur” on the world stage. It was the first time that Khamenei has spoken out since the offensive, which was in retaliation for the early April attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus.
Israel promised a military response to the Iranian attack and carried out an attack near the city of Isfahan on Friday, according to US media. Iranian media responded coolly to the incident and did not speak of a foreign attack. Ayatollah Khamenei also did not mention the possible Israeli attack.