Iran says US 'contradictory behaviour' main obstacle to nuclear agreement

Tehran, Oct 18 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has said that the contradiction in the US officials' words and actions is the main obstacle to an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a state media report.

Speaking at a weekly press conference, Kanaani on Monday added that US officials sent messages to voice their viewpoints about the nuclear talks on the one hand, while showing contradictory behaviour in practice on the other.

He noted that Washington's approach failed to contribute to or supplement the nuclear talks, Xinhua news agency reported.

The spokesman stressed that "grounds exist for reviving the nuclear deal and all sides' return to it," but the issue currently hinges on the US government's political decision.

"We can return to the deal" whenever the US shows the necessary will, he said.

However, Iran will not keep waiting for an agreement, Kanaani emphasized.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear programme in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus.

On August 8, the European Union put forward its final text of the draft decision on reviving the JCPOA. Iran and the US later indirectly exchanged views on the proposal in a process that has so far failed to produce any favourable outcome.

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