Tehran: A top Iranian security official on Thursday slammed the US approach to the ongoing talks in Vienna on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, saying Washington is not willing to reach a “strong deal” that would satisfy both sides.
“The US approach to Iran’s principled demands, coupled with its unreasonable offers and unjustified pressure to hastily reach an agreement, show that the US is not interested in a strong deal that would satisfy both parties,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani tweeted, Xinhua news agency reported.
He stressed that in the absence of a political decision by the US, the negotiations in the Austrian capital get more complicated every hour.
Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015. However, former US president Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, with the US indirectly involved in the talks, in a bid to revive the landmark deal.