TEHRAN -- European negotiators in talks to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal through removing sanctions on Tehran presented no “new practical initiatives” and were not constructive in the last round that paused on Dec. 17, the Iranian foreign minister said on Thursday.
The negotiations will resume on Dec. 27, Russia and the European Union’s foreign service said earlier on Thursday, a day after the U.S. national security adviser said the troubled talks with Iran could be exhausted within weeks.
“We do not see the position of some European countries as constructive, specifically that of France,” Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said.
“When they say they are concerned about the progress of Iran’s nuclear program, we say out loud: ‘If you want to have your concerns addressed, then all sanctions must be removed.’”
The nuclear accord began unraveling in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington out and reimposed stringent sanctions against Tehran, which responded after a year of “strategic patience” by resuming its enrichment of uranium.
The talks have made scant progress since they resumed earlier this month after a five-month hiatus following the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Announcing the planned resumption of the talks next week, top Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted: “In this particular case this is an indication that all negotiators

don’t want to waste time and aim at speediest restoration of (the deal).”
“Participants will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the (deal) and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides,” an EU foreign service statement said.
Senior British, French and German diplomats offered a pessimistic assessment of the ongoing negotiations.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran had “managed to get (our) views orally approved by all parties in the draft that will be discussed next week.”
Iran said Iran will continue negotiations for the removal of sanctions, but not through giving excessive concessions.
Amir-Abdollahian said the second problem with regard to the three European signatories to the landmark 2015 agreement is that “in practice, they did not put forward any new initiative in the talks”.
The five remaining signatories to the nuclear agreement should have no doubt that “if they want to give one concession and get 10 concessions, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never accept such an approach,” he said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, with its strong logic, will continue the negotiations until a good agreement is reached, and once the opposite parties show their serious will, that will be the day when we can talk about the return of all parties to their commitments under the JCPOA.”