The Islamic Republic of Iran has declined holding nuclear talks with the United States.
The administration of Joe Biden had proposed the talks in a bid to rekindle the 2015 nuclear pact that was neglected by Trump in 2018 which paved way to series of economic sanctions on Iran.
Despite the fact that the current United States administration is less hostile, Iran still maintains says it will not entertain any talks, at least for now.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said that the coast is not yet clear for informal nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers.
The spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said: “There has been no change in the U.S. position and behavior yet, and the Biden administration has not only not abandoned Trump’s failed policy of maximum pressure, but has not even announced its commitment to fulfilling its overall commitments as part of the nuclear deal.”
He disclosed further that Iran would not re-negotiate the nuclear deal and repeated the longstanding insistence of Iran that the U.S. commenced the process by removing sanctions.
While reacting to Iran’s statement, a White House spokesman said: “While we are disappointed at Iran’s response, we remain ready to reengage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the nuclear deal commitments.
“We will be consulting with our P5+1 partners on the best way forward.”
The response of Iran to the proposal of the U.S. seems to be linked to a diplomatic effort by the signatories of U.S. and Europe to pass a resolution against Iran during an upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It is expected that the resolution will criticize Iran for curtailing nuclear inspectors’ access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
