A senior Iranian official accused France, Britain and Germany of bias and submission to the American desire, and Russia criticized the three European countries, while Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid arrived in Berlin praising the position of these countries.

In exclusive statements to Al Jazeera, a senior Iranian official said that the statement of France, Britain and Germany regarding the nuclear negotiations is biased and subject to the American desire, considering that it pushes towards complicating the situation and disturbing the optimism of reaching an agreement.

The Iranian official warned of what he called any hostile movements within the corridors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the coming days, stressing that any statement in the Agency's Board of Governors targeting Iranian interests will be met with a clear response.

The Iranian official pointed out that "Israel is practicing deceptive propaganda and presenting misleading information" to disrupt efforts to revive the nuclear agreement.

He stressed that Tehran is demanding the text of an agreement that cannot be interpreted, and that the "allegations file" within the IAEA be closed.

The Iranian official concluded his statements to Al Jazeera by saying that a real agreement could be reached within days, if the American position was realistic.

France, Britain and Germany said - in a joint statement - that Iran's recent positions are incompatible with its international obligations, and raise serious doubts about its intention to return to the nuclear agreement.

The three countries accused Iran of opening separate issues related to its international commitments, while negotiations were close to concluding a nuclear agreement.

The statement added that the final European text on returning to the nuclear agreement included maximum flexibility, and that Iran chose not to seize a decisive diplomatic opportunity, and continued to escalate its nuclear program.

In turn, the Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the French, British and German statement, saying that it contradicts the declared positions of the three countries about their goodwill in the Vienna negotiations.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the three European countries did not want the talks to achieve satisfactory results from the beginning, and that they were working with all their capabilities to thwart them, as he put it.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry expressed its regret for the European countries' move in what it described as the path of the Zionist entity to thwart the talks, and held the European countries responsible for the results of this policy.


Russian criticism

On the other hand, Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the tripartite European statement criticizing Iran's nuclear program came at the wrong time and at a very critical moment for the Vienna negotiations.

Ulyanov added - in a tweet on Twitter - that the session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors for the month of September will begin on Monday, and it is expected to discuss issues of monitoring and safeguards in Iran and Ukraine.

Ulyanov explained that the Board of Governors may discuss the issue of nuclear safety and the transfer of nuclear materials, in the framework of the Australian-British-US security agreement.

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Lapid in Berlin

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that over the past few months, Israel had conducted an extensive dialogue with France, Britain and Germany regarding the Iranian nuclear file, and had shared with them "up-to-date intelligence" about Iran's activities in a number of its nuclear facilities.

Lapid welcomed the announcement by these countries not to sign a nuclear agreement with Tehran at the current stage, as he put it.

He added, "Israel continues a successful political battle to curb the return to the nuclear agreement and prevent the removal of sanctions on Iran. The task is not over yet, and the road is long, but there are encouraging signs."

Lapid arrived in Berlin on a visit during which he will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Israeli government spokesman Ofir Gendelman said that the purpose of the visit was to coordinate positions on the Iranian nuclear program, and to agree on finalizing a strategic, economic and security cooperation document between Berlin and Tel Aviv.

In this context, an Israeli official told reporters - on condition of anonymity - "It seems at this point that he will not sign a nuclear agreement with Iran until after the US midterm elections at the earliest."

The US congressional elections are scheduled for next November.