TEHRAN – Iran is “absolutely serious” about Vienna talks expected to resume late this month, its President Ebrahim Raisi told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call Tuesday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is absolutely serious about the negotiations and we are equally serious about our people’s rights to have sanctions lifted,” Raisi said, according to a statement published on the presidency’s website.
His remarks come one day after Tehran invited the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, to visit and meet Iran’s foreign minister.
Talks to remove unjust sanctions, which have been on hold since Raisi’s election in June, are set to resume in Vienna on November 29 in a bid to revive a 2015 deal.
The deal was torpedoed when the U.S. unilaterally pulled out of it in 2018 under the administration of president Donald Trump.
The other parties to the deal -- Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France -- will participate in the Vienna talks in the presence of European negotiator Enrique Mora.
According to a Kremlin statement, Putin expressed hopes “that the talks scheduled for late November will be constructive”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian had called on the West not to make “excessive demands” on Tehran in the talks, in a call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov earlier this month.
In September, Lavrov called on the U.S. to be “more active” in its approach to help resume the stalled nuclear talks, criticizing the sanctions on Iran.
Elsewhere in the phone conversation, the Iranian president said Tehran is determined to boost trade and economic relations with Russia and finalize a comprehensive document on long-term bilateral cooperation that would help both sides pave the way for closer ties as soon as possible.
The two presidents also exchanged views on a number of regional issues, including the crises in Syria and Afghanistan and the situation in the Caucasus region.
Raisi said Tehran and Moscow enjoy convergence and synergy in many international issues, including in fighting unilateralism and strengthening multilateralism. He stressed the need for cooperation between the two countries on issues of regional significance.
For his part, Putin backed Iran’s proposal for drafting an agreement on long-term bilateral cooperation and said Moscow is resolved to finalize and enact such a document at the earliest.
The Russian president said his country attaches great significance to the expansion of economic ties with Iran and the finalization of joint investment projects.
On Syria, where Iran and Russia have been helping the government against a foreign-sponsored campaign of militancy, Raisi said Iran

believes the continuation of illegal foreign presence runs counter to the will of the Arab country’s people and government and is a threat to Syrian stability and security.
Raisi also renewed Iran’s warning about the presence of the Daesh terror group in Afghanistan and the entire region, saying, “We must remain vigilant in the face of the dangers of this conspiracy.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the establishment of an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic and political groups,” Raisi said. “We believe that the formation of such a government can guarantee the country’s security.”
Referring to the two countries’ cooperation on regional issues, especially on Syria, Putin said Tehran and Moscow have jointly succeeded in preserving the Arab country’s independence and destroying the terrorist hotspot but they should further expand close relations in various regional sectors.