On the eve of the resumption of the seventh round of the Vienna negotiations, Iran announced its adherence to lifting all US sanctions, and stressed that the proposals it presented a few days ago are negotiable, while Washington said that the ball is in Tehran's court and called on it to comply with the nuclear agreement.
According to Iranian media, the seventh round of negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement is expected to resume tomorrow, Thursday, after it stopped last Friday after the participating parties requested time to study proposals made by Iran regarding lifting US sanctions.
Before the talks stopped, Iran presented proposals for lifting the sanctions and later defended them, while the Western powers, led by the United States, criticized them, considering them to be evidence that Tehran was not serious about reaching an agreement, and a regression from what the past six rounds in Vienna had reached.
On the eve of the resumption of talks between Iran and the major powers, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will head to Washington to discuss the Iranian nuclear file, in conjunction with a visit started a few days ago by Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea to the American capital.
In an article in a Russian newspaper, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said that returning to the nuclear agreement requires a complete lifting of all US sanctions and verification, stressing that the guarantees required from Washington to return to the agreement and lift sanctions cannot be waived.
Abdullahian stressed his country's refusal to present any issues not related to the nuclear agreement at the negotiating table in Vienna, and said that the administration of US President Joe Biden continues what he described as the sabotage policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
He added that the US policies and the acceptance of them by European countries torpedoed Iran's economic gains from the nuclear agreement.
The Iranian foreign minister said that the Vienna negotiations remained unsuccessful because of what he described as US bids and illegal demands.
As for Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, he said that the proposals presented by his country are based on drafts of previous rounds, and are subject to discussion and negotiation.
In Iran's stadium
In response to the Iranian position, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the ball is now in Iran's court to show how serious it is in talks about its nuclear program.
Sullivan added that Iran's lack of seriousness in negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement will cause its isolation.
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the way will not remain open indefinitely for Iran to comply with the agreement.
Blinken added - in an interview during an event for The Wall Street Journal - that Washington will not allow Tehran not to return with reasonable and serious proposals to address outstanding issues while it continues to advance its program at the same time.
He added that his country still believes that diplomacy is the best way to resolve the nuclear challenge that Iran presents, in addition to returning to the nuclear agreement, considering that the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 was a very grave mistake.
In turn, the French Foreign Ministry said that Iran's proposals, which it presented at the beginning of the seventh round of the Vienna negotiations, do not constitute a reasonable basis for any agreement.