Iran Rejects EU-US Offer Of Direct Nuclear Talks In Coming Weeks - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) Iran has rejected the offer of the United States and the European Union to hold direct negotiations over the nuclear deal in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing two senior Western diplomats.

According to the report, this risks aggravating Tehran's relations both with Washington and Brussels.

Last week, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran was considering the EU-made proposal to hold an informal meeting between co-signers of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including the United States. This past Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the European Union was waiting for an answer from Iran after it invited the country to participate in new nuclear-related talks.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union. The agreement required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including the lift of an arms embargo five years later. The United States unilaterally exited the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran.