Iran: US should lift sanctions to prove it wants talks

Iran’s president says the United States should lift the sanctions on his country to prove it is serious about restarting stalled nuclear talks in Vienna

Iran

Iran’s president said Monday the United States should lift the sanctions on his country to prove it is serious about restarting stalled nuclear talks in Vienna

In an interview with state TV, Ebrahim Raisi said Iran is after “goal-oriented” talks with the West and said Iran “never left” the negotiation table.

“Lifting sanctions is an indication of seriousness of the other party,” he said.

Talks between Iran and European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, alongside Russia and China, have been stalled since June. Raisi's administration, which took office in August, has not fixed a date for resuming talks.

“The Islamic Republic is serious in this issue, we should see seriousness in the other party,” too, Raisi said.

The 2015 nuclear deal saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East.

With the talks in Vienna now stalled, Iran has breached limits on its uranium enrichment set by the accord. It is now enriching small amounts of uranium at its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity and its stockpile continues to grow.