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UK, France, Germany urge Iran to revive nuclear deal 'while it is still possible'

July 1, 2022 at 3:28 pm

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. [Iranian Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency]

Britain, France and Germany said yesterday that Iran should seize the diplomatic opportunity and conclude the deal to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement “while it is still possible”.

“There has been a viable deal on the table since March 2022, which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPOA commitments and the US to the deal. We regret that Iran has not seized the diplomatic opportunity to conclude the deal. We urge it to do so now. We are ready to conclude the deal,” the spokespersons of the foreign ministries of the three countries said in a joint statement.

“We express full support for the efforts of the JCPOA Coordinator to restore the JCPOA. Iran should take this opportunity to conclude the deal, while it is still possible. Unfortunately, it is our understanding that at the meeting which ended yesterday in Doha, Iran once again refused to seize the opportunity and, instead, made new extraneous and unrealistic demands,” the statement continued.

On Wednesday, Iran and the United States concluded two days of indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, without reaching a breakthrough.

Iran insists that the United States must remove organisations linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the terror list, and offer guarantees that future US administrations will not withdraw from the deal.

“We call upon Iran to stop and reverse its nuclear escalation, return to full cooperation with the IAEA and seize without further delay the offer on the table, which would benefit the Iranian people and nation,” the statement said.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he believed the talks had been “positive” and a deal could still be reached.

US President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear agreement in 2018 and restored “unprecedented” US sanctions  on Iran, prompting Tehran to start violating its nuclear restrictions about a year later.

Chances for Iran nuclear deal worse after Qatar talks: US official