Diplomacy welcomed in nuke deal efforts

TEHERAN－Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday that his country "welcomes the continuation of diplomacy and talks" to rescue the Iranian nuclear deal, according to the Foreign Ministry's website.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell after the EU's top diplomat proposed a new draft text to restore the nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The Iranian minister reiterated that Iran is "determined to reach a good, robust and lasting deal", urging the United States to move "realistically toward finding a solution and reaching a deal".

Washington "has always claimed that it wants a deal, so this must exist in the wording of the agreement and also in practice", he added.

Borrell noted in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times on Tuesday that he has put a text on the table as he has "concluded that the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted".

"This text represents the best possible deal that I, as facilitator of the negotiations, see as feasible," he wrote. "I see no other comprehensive or effective alternative within reach."

Borrell acknowledged that the deal "remains politically polarizing in Washington as the midterm elections approach" and that it "may not have addressed all US concerns with respect to Iran".

But he argued that the deal carries very significant benefits.

Separately, the White House declined to comment on an Axios report quoting White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk as saying it was "highly unlikely" that the 2015 deal will be revived in the near future.

Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country.

However, former US president Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

Talks to revive the deal began in April last year in Vienna, but were suspended in March because of political differences between Teheran and Washington. Both sides held indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha late in June, but failed to settle their differences.

Agencies - Xinhua