Iran urges 'serious' approach on talks

TEHERAN－Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has called for a "serious "approach in the upcoming nuclear talks for a "good deal", Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

"I believe that if the opposite sides enter the Vienna talks with a serious and positive approach, it will be possible to achieve a good agreement in a short time," Amir Abdollahian was quoted by Tasnim as saying.

The Islamic republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, are set to meet in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Nov 29 to resume the negotiations, which were suspended in June due to Iran's presidential election and subsequent changes in the administration.

"The Islamic republic has no intention to be locked in the stalemate remaining from the previous negotiations," he said, calling for "effective and verifiable removal of sanctions and the return of the opposite sides to their full obligations" for the progress of the talks.

Washington's behavior in imposing new sanctions against Iran has made providing "objective guarantees" an unavoidable necessity, he said, referring to Iranian officials' persistence for the guarantees that the administration of US President Joe Biden will not repeat the legacy of former president Donald Trump by withdrawing from the deal.

Amir Abdollahian also pointed to the recent European tour of Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, saying he has had "explicit and useful" talks in a number of European capitals ahead of the Vienna talks.

The JCPOA Joint Commission is scheduled to reconvene in Vienna with the participation of delegates from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia.

The US, which terminated its participation in the agreement in May 2018, is expected to engage in the talks indirectly.

Xinhua