Iran FM Tells UN Chief: Ball in U.S. Court
TEHRAN -- Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday the negotiating parties in the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 Iran deal are close to reaching a final agreement, adding that the ball is now in U.S. court.
Hussein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Sunday phone call with the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, during which the two sides discussed the current situation of talks on the revival of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), as well as other regional and international developments.
“We are close to an agreement in the negotiations and we have conveyed our proposals on the outstanding issues through the European Union’s top negotiator (Enrique Mora) to the US side, and the ball is now in US court,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
Guterres, for his part, described the talks in the Austrian capital as important, expressing hope that the negotiating sides would reach an agreement soon.
Amir-Abdollahian and Guterres also discussed the latest developments in Yemen, including a ceasefire to halt Saudi-led raids on the impoverished country and the Yemeni armed forces’ retaliatory attacks.
The Iranian foreign minister welcomed the establishment of the truce in Yemen and thanked the secretary general for the role he played in this regard.
The time has come for taking key steps toward the establishment of peace and stability in Yemen, especially toward the full removal of inhumane sanctions imposed on the country, he said.
Amir-Abdollahian further said Iran will continue to support a settlement to the Yemeni crisis and ending the war in the country, adding, “We hope, simultaneous with the establishment of truce, the full blockade on the people of Yemen would also come to a halt, so that this important opportunity would not go to waste.”
He also underlined the need for dispatching humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen.
For his part, Guterres expressed his congratulations on the establishment of the ceasefire, calling it a “joint success and victory” that was achieved through the efforts of all sides.