Iran confirmed - on Monday - that it will not rush into talks aimed at reviving the agreement on its nuclear program despite Western "pressures", months after the negotiations were suspended.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said - during a press conference - that the Westerners are calling on Iran to take the decision immediately, and stress that time is short and Iran must respond quickly, "however, the Islamic Republic does not act hastily, and will not sacrifice the basic interests of the country and the nation despite the pressure."

Kanaani stressed the continuation of indirect communication between Tehran and Washington through the European Union, and considered that the ball for reviving the agreement remains in the American court.

"If America's position is constructive and positive, we will reach an agreement in the near future," he said, stressing Tehran's commitment to negotiation until a "good, strong and sustainable agreement is reached."

The 2015 nuclear agreement allowed the lifting of some sanctions on Iran in exchange for reducing its nuclear activities and ensuring the peacefulness of its program, but the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 during the era of its former president, Donald Trump, and re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Tehran, which responded gradually by retreating from most of its obligations under it.


discussions

Iran and the powers affiliated with the agreement began discussions to revive it in April 2021 in the Austrian capital Vienna, with the indirect participation of the United States and facilitated by the European Union.

Despite achieving great progress in the negotiations, the talks were suspended last March, with points of disagreement remaining between Tehran and Washington that those concerned were unable to bridge the gap on.

In late June, the two sides held indirect talks in Doha, facilitated by the European Union, which ended without progress.

While Western countries stress the need for Tehran to return to compliance with its nuclear commitments and reduce the acceleration of its program in the wake of the US withdrawal, Tehran stresses the priority of achieving the full economic benefits of reviving the agreement and ensuring that the United States does not renege on its commitments.

During a phone call last Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi that reviving the agreement "is still possible," provided it "is done as soon as possible."

And last Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Tehran "has not yet taken the political decision in order to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA."


Turn on the cameras

Today, Monday, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, confirmed that "Tehran will not operate the cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which it removed last June, until the 2015 nuclear agreement is revived."

The semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency quoted Eslami as saying that the cameras that were stopped are related to the nuclear agreement, and therefore will not be restarted unless an understanding is reached to revive it.

"If the Westerners return to this agreement and we are confident that they will not cause any harm, we will decide on these cameras," he added.

Earlier, the head of the Iranian Authority of Al-Jazeera said that the European and American moves in the board of governors of this international agency are political measures, and they are carried out within the framework of the policy of maximum pressure on Iran with the support of Israel.

Eslami added that the Iranian nuclear program is peaceful and declared, and that the accusations against his country are fabricated and undocumented, as he put it.

The International Atomic Energy Agency had earlier condemned Iran's decision to "close 27 cameras" to monitor its nuclear activities, warning of a "fatal blow" to talks on this thorny file if the disruption continued.