ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tehran is willing to continue cooperation towards establishing a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, said the Iranian foreign minister on Sunday, adding that nuclear weapons contradict Iran’s “doctrine”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone call with United Nations Security-General Antonio Guterres, exchanging views on the latest developments in Iran’s nuclear program and stressing the importance of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
“There is no place for nuclear weapons in the doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as they contradict our policies and beliefs,” Iranian state media cited Amir-Abdollahian as saying in the phone call.
In regards to the talks to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the foreign minister stated that “the results of the negotiations depends on US’ desire or lack of desire to reach an agreement,” emphasizing that Iran has “a serious will” to reach a stable agreement.
The European Union has mediated talks between Iran and the US for over a year in hopes of reviving the JCPOA, under which Iran would significantly limit its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, with no success.
A new round of talks began on Thursday in Vienna, with Russia's envoy to the talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, stating on Sunday the process towards restoring the deal was “moving in the right direction,” as cited by AP.
For his part, Guterres emphasized the need to “remove nuclear weapons from the world,” adding that they have made efforts towards closing down the Iranian nuclear file and have asked the European and American sides to exhibit flexibility during this stage of the talks towards restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.
In return for restoring the JCPOA, which former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, Iran has demanded that the US lifts its sanctions on the country, including those on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US has designated as a terrorist organization.
