Iran said on Monday that it welcomes the Iraqi government’s efforts to help with the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference following Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein’s separate consultations with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley about the nuclear talks, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.
Some governments had previously made efforts to revive the nuclear talks with goodwill, said Kanaani, noting that some other governments are currently willing to play a role in this regard by using their relations with both Iran and the United States.
Iran will seriously consider Iraq’s efforts if the Iraqi government seeks to play a role in helping the nuclear talks bear fruit, Kanaani noted.
He reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment to talks to lay the groundwork for all parties’ return to the nuclear deal, with its priority being the removal of all sanctions imposed on the Iranian government and people.
It is hoped that the other parties, in particular the U.S. government, would practically honor their obligations in line with their claims of willingness to return to the deal, he added.
Iran has no direct contact or negotiation with the U.S. government, Kanaani said, adding Tehran will, however, use all diplomatic capacities to safeguard the country’s interests, particularly the removal of the sanctions.
Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.
The talks on the JCPOA’s revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough has been achieved after the latest round of talks in August 2022.