TEHRAN — Iran is to resume negotiations on the removal of U.S. sanctions in Vienna on October 21 that were suspended in June, an Iranian lawmaker said Sunday after a meeting with Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian.
The minister said that “talks with the 4+1 Group will restart on Thursday in Brussels,” Ahmad Alirezabeigui told Fars news agecny after a closed-door session with Amir-Abdollahian.
The lawmaker was referring to four UN Security Council permanent members — Britain, China, France, and Russia — along with Germany.
Iran and these five nations opened talks in Vienna in April with the European Union (EU) also attending while the United States has taken part in indirect negotiations.
The United States, China, Russia, Germany, France, and Britain struck an accord in Vienna with Iran on its nuclear program in 2015.
But then-U.S. president Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions.
The Vienna talks aimed at reviving the deal through removing the sanctions were suspended in June, when Iran elected Ebrahim Raisi as president.
However, the EU’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said Friday he was “ready” to meet Iranian officials in Brussels.
Another Iranian lawmaker, Behrouz Mohebbi Najmabadi, said on Twitter on Sunday that negotiations would resume “this week.”
According to MP Salimi, Amir-Abdollahian said the United States needs to show “goodwill and sincerity” and take a “serious” step toward the removal of the sanctions.
The foreign minister said Iran’s policy is “action for action” while the country would not tie its plans to achieve sustainable economic development to the future talks on the sanctions removal.
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that the Iranian negotiating team would conform to a parliamentary law on the lifting of sanctions and safeguarding national interests, the lawmaker said.
The foreign minister also expressed gratitude to the parliament for ratifying the bill, saying it has enhanced the power of the Iranian negotiators in the course of the talks.
Salimi also pointed to the talks about Azerbaijan’s recent measures and said the top Iranian diplomat had warned Baku not to fall into the traps set by the occupying regime of Israel.