Iran: Nuclear Deal Can be Reached if US is Pragmatic

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Iran: Nuclear Deal Can be Reached if US is Pragmatic

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut, Lebanon March 24, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

The revival of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers can happen in the short term if the United States shows pragmatism in Vienna negotiations, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Thursday.

"If the United States is pragmatic, a nuclear deal can be reached in the short term," he said during a news conference in Beirut, adding that the vital issue of sanctions relief for Iran was not yet fully resolved.

"Instead of wasting time by playing with words and time, the United States should take the right path and act pragmatically. We are ready for a good, strong and stable agreement, but not at the price of our red lines," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The talks were close to an agreement until Russia made last-minute demands of the United States, insisting that sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not hurt its trade with Iran.

On Wednesday, Amirabdollahian said during a trip to Damascus that Iran and world powers are closer to an agreement in Vienna than ever before.

But US officials have been more cautious in their assessment of efforts to revive the accord, which would curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting tough sanctions on Iran's economy.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday the United States and its allies have made progress in Iran nuclear talks but issues remain, and it is unclear if they will be resolved.



Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, with the aim of improving strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
The meeting will precede a fourth round of nuclear talks this weekend between Iran and the United States, also to be held in Italy.
"In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role (in the nuclear file) due to the wrong policies they have adopted. Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome," Araqchi told state media.
Reuters reported on Monday that Tehran had proposed meeting the European countries, collectively known as the E3, which are parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
E3 political directors confirmed they would meet with Iran on Friday.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal. Iran has far exceeded the 2015 agreement's curbs on its nuclear program since the United States withdrew, and the European countries share Washington's concern that Tehran could seek an atomic bomb. Iran says its program is peaceful.
A UN Security Council resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires in October, and France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris would not think twice about re-imposing international sanctions if negotiations fail to reach a deal.
"These sanctions would permanently close off Iranian access
to technology, investment, and the European market, with devastating effects on the country's economy," Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Iran's UN representative responded: "If France and its partners are truly seeking a diplomatic solution, they must stop threatening."
On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on what it described as a network based in Iran and China accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Araqchi said US sanctions during negotiations sent the "wrong message".
Trump has said he is confident of clinching a new pact that would block Iran's path to a nuclear bomb.