US must abandon excessive demands in JCPOA talks: Iranian FM

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Iran's Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of the US dropping its unreasonable expectations in the talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, saying the current administration should have the fortitude to fix its predecessor's mistakes.

“The United States’ current administration should have the audacity to rectify the White House’s past mistakes,” Amirabdollahian told European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrel during a phone call on Friday.

In 2018, incumbent US President Joe Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled the US out of a 2015 agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and others. Trump also reinstated the illegal sanctions that had been lifted as part of the agreement.

Since last year, the Austrian capital of Vienna has been hosting numerous rounds of talks between Tehran and the other partners in the accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to explore the possibility of the deal's resuscitation and fresh removal of sanctions.

“There are no doubts about the Iranian government’s will to reach a good, strong, and sustainable agreement (in Vienna),” Amirabdollahian said.

“The White House should abandon its excessive demands and its indecision and walk down the path of realism and resolution (of the standing differences),” he added.

Meanwhile, the top diplomat thanked Borrell and his deputy Enrique Mora for their efforts in coordinating the negotiations.

Read more: Borrell: Nuclear agreement with Iran “very close”

 

Borrell, for his part, praised the Islamic Republic's desire to reach an agreement as well as the various steps that the Islamic Republic has put in place to facilitate the potential.

He did, however, express unhappiness with the announcement of a halt in the negotiations from mid-March to the present, and he urged further talks between the EU's ambassador and Iran's senior negotiator, Ali Baqeri.