Tehran: Prospects for direct negotiations with US unclear
3 Min Read
Iran's Foreign Minister meets with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and discusses the latest developments in the Vienna Talks.
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The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where they discussed the developments in the Vienna Talks.
The Iranian Foreign Minister lauded the role played by both Josep Borell and Enrique Mora as organizers for the talks, stressing Iran's will to reach a "good deal".
Borell discussed some passages of the draft text being discussed in the talks on sanctions removal, nuclear commitments, and guarantees, and both sides agreed to further continue talks on these matters.
Biden's "good faith"
Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that Iran is "very optimistic about the results of the Vienna Talks," stressing however that if talks fail, "we believe it is the Americans and the other side that are responsible for it.”
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told me that Tehran is “very optimistic” of reaching a nuclear agreement in ongoing negotiations in Vienna.
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 19, 2022
However, if the talks fail, it's "the Americans and the other side that are responsible for it," he says. pic.twitter.com/W41zS6eZmW
“Now, we are at a very sensitive time and the other side should be realistic; and if the talks fail, we believe that it is the Americans and the other side that are responsible for it,” he added. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown its seriousness and has shown that it really wants the deal to be done and we have been trying to reach the deal.”
The Foreign Minister further said that if the US President had good faith, then "he would release $10 billion of our frozen assets in foreign banks."
“We do not ask Mr. Biden for a loan or funds, but we want him to release our assets in good faith,” he said.
Direct talks with the US?
Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic has made all possible initiatives and proposals and added that the talks could succeed at the "earliest possible time," provided that the US makes the necessary political decisions to do so.
When asked whether Tehran is ready to conduct direct talks with Washington, the Foreign Minister said the US has asked for direct meetings and stressed that if the US has good intentions, then it should show this by showing goodwill, such as unfreezing Iran's foreign assets.
The Iranian Foreign Minister also said during the Munich Security Conference that Iran has demonstrated its seriousness all along and that it is now up to the E3 and the US to do the same.
FM @Amirabdolahian at #MSC2022:
— Saeed Khatibzadeh | سعید خطیبزاده (@SKhatibzadeh) February 19, 2022
Iran is determined to successfully conclude the #ViennaTalks. We have already made our serious decisions & have demonstrated our seriousness all along. To reach the final agreement, it is now up to the E3 and the US to do the same,urgently. pic.twitter.com/4BykAgBalg
