There is “no specific date” set for U.S.-Iran nuclear talks as negotiations stay stalled following the current battle with Israel, Tehran confirmed Monday.
“For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,” mentioned Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei of plans for a gathering between Iran’s prime diplomat Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Araghchi and Witkoff met beginning in April, with out concluding a deal after 5 rounds of talks that had been the highest-level contact between their two nations since Washington in 2018 deserted a landmark nuclear settlement.
The Omani-mediated negotiations had been halted as Israel launched shock strikes on Iran’s nuclear services on June 13, beginning a 12-day battle which the United States later joined.
“We have been serious in diplomacy and the negotiation process, we entered with good faith, but as everyone witnessed, before the sixth round, the Zionist regime, in coordination with the United States, committed military aggression against Iran,” mentioned Baqaei.
Israel and Western nations accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a cost Tehran has persistently denied.
While it’s the solely non-nuclear energy to counterpoint uranium to 60% purity, near the extent wanted for a warhead, the U.N.’s atomic vitality watchdog has mentioned it had no indication that Iran was working to weaponize its stockpiles.
Israel’s offensive final month, which it mentioned was geared toward thwarting a nuclear menace from the Islamic Republic, killed nuclear scientists and top-ranking navy officers, in addition to hitting navy, nuclear and different websites and residential areas.
The United States launched its personal set of strikes towards Iran’s nuclear program on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, in addition to nuclear websites in Isfahan and Natanz.
The extent of the harm from the strikes stays unknown and Baqaei mentioned it was “still under investigation.”
Iran responded with missile and drone assaults on Israel, and attacked a U.S. base in Qatar in retaliation for Washington’s strikes.
Sanctions
Baqaei mentioned Monday that Iran stays in touch with Britain, France, and Germany, the three European events to the 2015 nuclear deal that the United States later withdrew from.
The Europeans have threatened to set off the “snapback” mechanism underneath the 2015 settlement, which permits the reimposition of U.N. sanctions within the occasion of non-compliance.
Baqaei mentioned Tehran was “in continuous contact with these three countries” however added that he “cannot provide an exact date” for the subsequent assembly with them.
There was “no legal, moral or political basis” for reimposing sanctions, in line with Baqaei, as Iran was nonetheless dedicated to the 2015 settlement.
The ministry spokesman added that such a transfer could be met with an “appropriate and proportionate” response, following Iranian threats to stop the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
After the United States pulled out of the nuclear accord throughout Donald Trump’s first time period as president, Iran started rolling again its commitments to the settlement that restricts its atomic actions in return for sanctions aid.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran still considers itself a member of the JCPOA,” Baqaei mentioned of the 2015 deal.
Source: www.dailysabah.com