VIENNA (Dispatches) -- Russia’s lead negotiator at stalled multi-power talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal said Iran’s demand for a guarantee from the U.S. government that it won’t quit the landmark accord again is “logical and justifiable”.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador at the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, was responding to a report by Washington-based think tank, Quincy Institute, that President Joe Biden had refused to provide Iran any assurance that the U.S. won’t abrogate the agreement for a second time during his tenure.
“This Iranian demand seems to be logical and justifiable, it corresponds not only to diplomatic practice but also to elementary common sense,” Ulyanov said in a tweet.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi told reporters in early July that the Islamic Republic had asked Washington to provide strong guarantees that it will never again withdraw from the nuclear deal unilaterally.
He added that a U.S. guarantee that it will never unilaterally leave the Iran nuclear deal again is vital to a successful conclusion of talks in Vienna on the terms of Washington’s return to the agreement.
Takht-Ravanchi noted that unless some U.S. guarantee of stability was provided, European and other investors would not have the confidence to invest in the Iranian economy.
He posted another tweet the same day, rejecting a follower’s view that “Biden isn’t willing to stick to an agreement,” noting that “the participants in the #ViennaTalks have different views on some topics under discussion, but all of them, including the U.S., are sticking to the goal of restoration of the #JCPOA in its original form.”
He said “the speediest and most reliable way” to lift “illegitimate unilateral sanctions against Iran” is “successful conclusion of the #ViennaTalks on #JCPOA.”
In a meeting with Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Khusrav Noziri in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said the negotiations between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries on the removal of U.S. anti-Iran sanctions will be resumed in the near future.
Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the recent talks between Iran and the European Union in Tehran, adding that Iran would resume the negotiations with the P4+1 group (Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany) soon.