News / Nuclear Energy

Iran's lead negotiator: Deal at hand in Vienna if other sides give ‘lasting commitments’

Tuesday, 04 October 2022 7:19 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 04 October 2022 7:24 PM ]

Iranian delegates, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, (R) meet with Hungarian Foreign Ministry officials in Budapest, on September 4, 2022.

Iran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani says an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), could be immediately achieved if the parties provide sustainable commitments to Tehran.

Bagheri Kani, who is also deputy foreign minister for political affairs, made the remarks in a meeting with Peter Sztaray, the minister of state for security policy at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, after he arrived in Budapest on Tuesday, on the first leg of his tour of several European countries.

He said Iran believes that a readiness by sides for “lasting commitments” will quickly lead to a deal, and “honoring commitments” will guarantee that the deal stays and lasts.

He further pointed to the Hungarian foreign minister’s visit to Iran last year, as well as the second meeting of the joint commission for Iran-Hungary economic cooperation in Tehran, saying the political resolve of the officials to strengthen bilateral relations is a strong support for business people in expanding bilateral commercial and economic exchanges.

The United States, under former president Donald Trump, abandoned the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated unilateral sanctions that the deal had lifted.

The talks to salvage the agreement kicked off in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April last year, months after Joe Biden succeeded Trump, with the intention of examining Washington’s seriousness in rejoining the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.

Despite notable progress, the US indecisiveness and procrastination caused multiple interruptions in the marathon talks.

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