DUBAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Iran does not rule out the possibility of a meeting on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.
Ebrahim Raisi: The #60Minutes (@60Minutes) Interview
In an interview recorded last Tuesday, Lesley Stahl spoke with #Iran’s president, #EbrahimRaisi, about a possible nuclear deal with the U.S., the sanctions against him and his country.https://t.co/8AdihS7jss via @CBSNews— Kayhan Life (@KayhanLife) September 19, 2022
The Iranian regime was designated by the Trump Administration as the leading state sponsor of antisemitism in the world.
Raisi here refuses to acknowledge the Holocaust took place & also refuses to accept Israel’s right to exist. #60Minutes pic.twitter.com/LPREos1VgQ
— Ellie Cohanim (@elliecohanim) September 19, 2022
Months of indirect talks between Iran and the United States have foundered over several issues including Tehran’s insistence that the International Atomic Energy Agency close its investigation into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites before the pact is revived, and a U.S. guarantee that it would not walk out of any nuclear agreement again.
“Ali Bagheri Kani, the chief nuclear negotiator, will be present at the…General Assembly as part of the delegation but there is no specific plan to discuss the nuclear deal. However, I do not rule out the possibility of talks regarding the nuclear deal,” Kanaani said.
He said Tehran had never left the negotiating table.
Press Release: Iranian Dissidents & Former Hostages Sue Ebrahim Raisi, To Hold NYC Press Conference
Kanaani, however, dismissed the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Iranian and U.S. officials in New York. Read full storyTehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since 1979 and remain at odds over many issues.
In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran would be serious about reviving the nuclear pact if there were guarantees Washington would not again withdraw for it – as happened in 2018 under then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the accord was too weak. Read full story
“If it’s a good deal and fair deal, we would be serious about reaching an agreement,” Raisi said.
The 2015 deal, under which Tehran restrained its disputed nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions, has frayed badly since the U.S. pull-out with Iran breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.
There has been no sign Tehran and Washington will manage to overcome their impasse but Iran is expected to use the U.N. General Assembly to keep the diplomatic ball rolling by repeating its willingness to reach a sustainable pact.
(Reporting by Dubai NewsroomEditing by Mark Heinrich)