Iran: US sent a message, ‘in hurry’ to reach nuke deal

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian gives a press conference after his meeting his Iraqi counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on April 13, 2022.
(ATTA KENARE / AFP)

TEHRAN – Iran's foreign minister on Saturday said his country has received a US message expressing  American hastiness to reach the nuclear deal with Iran, official IRNA news agency reported.

"Three days ago, we received a message from the United States, and told them that the (International Atomic Energy) Agency (IAEA)'s accusations against Iran's nuclear program should be resolved" before any agreement, said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

Asked about US officials' comments about the nuclear negotiations being off the US agenda, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said "Americans are contradictory in their words and behavior, as they are in a hurry to reach the agreement in their (recent) message"

Asked about US officials' comments about the nuclear negotiations being off the US agenda, he said "Americans are contradictory in their words and behavior, as they are in a hurry to reach the agreement in their (recent) message."

While the United States continues to exchange messages with Iran, they "are seeking to exert political and psychological pressure (on Iran) and want to gain concessions in the negotiations," he said.

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"We do not give any concessions to the American side, and we move within the framework of logic and the framework of an agreement that respects the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but at the same time we never leave the negotiating table," he stressed.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on the country. However, Washington quit the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria. No breakthrough was achieved after the latest round of Vienna talks held in early August.

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