TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic remains committed to talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Kanani told reporters during a news conference that a time and place to continue the talks in order to bring the U.S. back to compliance and remove its sanctions on the Islamic Republic will “soon” be announced.

“The way to continue the negotiations and the place for the negotiations is being discussed,” he said, adding that Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian and chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani were in continuous contact with their European counterparts.

Catherine Colonna, France’s new foreign minister, on Tuesday said, “The window of opportunity will close in a few weeks.” 

“There will not be a better accord to the one which is on the table,” she added.

Kanani said Western officials did not have the right to scold Tehran since the U.S.’s decision to withdraw from the accord and Europe’s decision to comply with Washington’s stringent sanctions on Iran have led to the current deadlock.

“The side that is in the position of expressing demands is the Islamic Republic of Iran, which does not acknowledge the right for [Western] sides to position themselves as parties that present demands or even threats,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said.

Iran and the Europeans conducted two days of talks in Qatar in late June with Europe’s mediation to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal is formally known.

Iran has rejected U.S. claims that it has presented demands that

go beyond the original deal, saying it wants a guarantee that it can enjoy the full economic benefits it was promised under the accord.
Washington continues to impose new sanctions on Tehran, refusing to break with the former U.S. regime’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Qatar’s foreign minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran earlier this month in an effort to facilitate more negotiations.
The Iranian foreign minister travelled to Italy earlier this week for talks with his counterparts from the Italian government and the Vatican that, among other things, encompassed the talks to remove sanctions on Iran.
“If window of diplomacy is still open, that’s because of Iran’s dynamic initiatives,” Amir-Abdollahian tweeted on Monday, adding that the U.S. needs to make concessions for a final agreement.