‘constructive’ plan for nuclear talks
‘constructive’ plan for nuclear talks
The announcement comes after European diplomatic sources said Tehran recently gave encouraging signs about opening informal talks over the nuclear deal.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran will soon present a “constructive” plan of action, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday, after European sources said Tehran gave positive signs about opening informal talks about its nuclear program.

“As Iran’s FM [foreign minister] & chief negotiator, I will shortly present our constructive concrete plan of action – through proper diplomatic channels,” Zarif said on Twitter.

A French diplomatic source and another European official said on Thursday that Iran had given encouraging signs in recent days about opening informal talks after European powers scrapped plans to criticize Tehran at the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iran has so far refused to take part in a meeting brokered by the European Union between world powers and the United States on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s nuclear policy is decided by the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and not the president of the government.

Tehran and Washington have emerged from former US President Donald Trump’s attempts to wreck Iran’s nuclear deal but are locked in a standoff over who should move first to save it. Trump pulled out of the landmark accord in 2018.

Britain, France, and Germany decided to pause the submission of a resolution critical of Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday to not harm the prospects for diplomacy, after what they said were concessions gained from Iran to deal with outstanding nuclear issues.

“JCPOA cannot be renegotiated—period,” Zarif said on his Twitter account.

Zarif was responding to Wendy Sherman, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, who said earlier that the facts on the ground have changed since the nuclear agreement was signed, calling for a “stronger” deal.

“I would note that 2021 is not 2015, when the deal was agreed, nor 2016 when it was implemented,” Sherman said during a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, according to Press TV. “The facts on the ground have changed, the geopolitics of the region has changed, and the way forward must similarly change.”

  • source : ALJAZEERA