Russia’s Role in Vienna Talks Constructive: Iranian Spokesman

Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said Russia has had a constructive role in the Vienna negotiations about saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and lifting the sanctions on Tehran.

“The war in Ukraine may dilute Russia’s mediation role in the Vienna negotiations,” the Iranian spokesman added.

Pointing to the serious talks between Iran’s foreign minister and the EU foreign policy chief that included “special initiatives” from Iran, Khatibzadeh said if the United States responds to such proposals, the situation will be created for all parties to return to Vienna to strike an eventual agreement.

“If the US makes its political decision, we’ll be able to take a major step in this regard,” he added.

Dismissing the “worn-out phrases” made by the US officials, Khatibzadeh reiterated that Iran seeks to restore its legitimate right, so that the maximum pressure invented by the Trump administration must be dismantled.

He also lashed out at the Zionist regime for its attempts to torpedo diplomacy whenever initiatives are shown to advance diplomacy in the course of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

The US administration, under former president Donald Trump, unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and launched a maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, despite the latter’s full adherence to its commitments under the deal.

Since April 2021, several rounds of talks between Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- have been held in the Austrian capital to bring the US back into the Iran deal. The Vienna talks, however, exclude American diplomats due to their country’s withdrawal from the deal.