US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed today, Sunday, that his country is ready to reach a binding agreement with Iran if it returns to compliance with its obligations, at a time when Tehran described its discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency as fruitful.
Sullivan said in a press statement that Iran has not yet responded to the call to negotiate, and it is currently in isolation and not the United States, and the ball is now in its court, stressing that President Joe Biden's administration believes that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Tehran from reaching a nuclear bomb.
He added that Tehran has refused to cooperate with the IAEA in the work it is trying to do to ensure that Iran's program is not used for weapons purposes.
Abadi published two photos from the meeting Grossi held today, Sunday, with Salehi (Reuters)
Fruitful dialogue
Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kazem Gharib Abadi, confirmed that Iran and the agency conducted a "fruitful dialogue" during the meeting that brought together Director of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi and Agency Director Raphael Grossi, indicating that the results of this meeting will be announced today.
Abadi published two photos from the meeting that Grossi held today with Salehi, commenting that "Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have held fruitful discussions based on mutual respect, and the results of which will be published this evening."
Salehi had said earlier that the dialogue with Grossi would discuss how to organize inspections, in accordance with the decisions of the NPT, and criticized the agency's leakage of information related to Iran's nuclear activities.
Grossi previously said that the aim of his visit is to reach "a mutually acceptable solution consistent with Iranian law, in order for the IAEA to continue its basic verification activities in Iran."
Zarif's remarks
Concurrently, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif talked about the possibility of reversing the measures taken by his country outside the terms of the nuclear agreement, in exchange for the commitment of other parties.
He said that talks can start with Washington when all parties fulfill their obligations in the nuclear deal, noting that Iran will quickly back down from reducing its commitments if the rest of the parties abide by the agreement.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of European countries will discuss consultations in Brussels with the participation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with video technology, and it is decided that Iran's nuclear file will be one of the important points on the agenda.
Tehran had announced that it was studying a proposal submitted by the European Union to participate in an informal meeting attended by the United States with the rest of the members of the nuclear agreement, while an Iranian official confirmed that there is no meaning for any return to the agreement without verifying the seriousness of Washington.
Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country is studying the European proposal to hold a meeting with the participation of Washington and Tehran.
Sullivan confirmed that Washington intends to negotiate with Iran over its detention of Americans (Reuters)
Americans detained
On the other hand, Sullivan said that Washington intends to negotiate with Iran about its detention of Americans, and that it has begun communicating with it in this regard and will continue to do so.
He stressed that the issue of the return of Americans detained in Iran is a priority for the Biden administration, which will not accept unfair detention of Americans, noting that the issue of their detention "raises complete and absolute anger."
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in early February that the United States was committed to seeking "the release of Americans being held hostage or unfairly imprisoned abroad," but he did not mention Iran.