Raisi Blames Western Parties of 'Aggravating' Nuclear Talks

A photo released by the Iranian presidency website from Raisi’s speech in Tehran Tuesday during the annual conference of representatives of Iran’s Supreme Leader
A photo released by the Iranian presidency website from Raisi’s speech in Tehran Tuesday during the annual conference of representatives of Iran’s Supreme Leader
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Raisi Blames Western Parties of 'Aggravating' Nuclear Talks

A photo released by the Iranian presidency website from Raisi’s speech in Tehran Tuesday during the annual conference of representatives of Iran’s Supreme Leader
A photo released by the Iranian presidency website from Raisi’s speech in Tehran Tuesday during the annual conference of representatives of Iran’s Supreme Leader

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday blamed western parties of aggravating talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

“Iran never left the negotiating table, and it was the westerners who created a crisis in these negotiations,” said Raisi, referring to a recent anti-Iran resolution while the nuclear talks were ongoing.

On June 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors that includes 35 members made an overwhelming majority vote to criticize Iran for a lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectorate.

The resolution criticized Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.

Negotiations to revive the 2015 deal have been deadlocked since March, particularly when Iran asked that the US to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its terrorist list as a condition for reaching a nuclear deal in Vienna.

However, the Biden administration does not intend to answer the Iranian request.

Raisi said the conclusion of talks for the salvage of the 2015 nuclear deal requires the will of the “other party more than anything else,” referring to the US.

“Iran's position is logical and rational, and if the other side behaves logically and rationally, the negotiations can lead to a result,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said on Tuesday that after 15 months of intense, constructive negotiations in Vienna and countless interactions with the JCPOA participants and the US, he has concluded that the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted.

Writing in an op-ed in The Financial Times, he said, “I have now put on the table a text that addresses, in precise detail, the sanctions lifting as well as the nuclear steps needed to restore the JCPOA.”

He said this text represents the best possible deal that he sees as feasible. “It is not a perfect agreement, but it addresses all essential elements and includes hard-won compromises by all sides,” Borrell wrote.

The top EU diplomat said decisions need to be taken now to seize this unique opportunity to succeed, and to free up the great potential of a fully implemented deal. “I see no other comprehensive or effective alternative within reach,” he stressed.

Hours after Borrell’s op-ed was published, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's lead nuclear negotiator, confirmed the EU diplomat had put forth a new proposal, adding on Twitter, “We, too, have our own ideas, both in substance and form, to conclude the negotiations which would be shared.”



Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
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Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive.

"I would like to have a meeting, but it needs to be prepared so that it brings results," Putin said in televised remarks. He added that he would be "pleased" to meet Trump.

Putin hailed the "positive" talks between senior Russian and US officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.

He expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for holding the talks in Riyadh.

"In my opinion, we have taken a first step to resume work in a variety of areas that are of mutual interest," Putin said. These included issues relating to the Middle East, global energy markets and cooperation in space, he said.

"Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis."

Ukraine and European governments were not invited to the talks in the Saudi capital, which heightened their concern that Russia and the United States might cut a deal that ignores their vital security interests.

But Putin said Russia had never rejected talks with the Europeans or with Kyiv, and it was they who had refused to talk to Moscow.

'NO ONE IS EXCLUDING UKRAINE,' PUTIN SAYS

"If they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations," he said.

"No one is excluding Ukraine," he added, saying that there was therefore no need for a "hysterical" reaction to the US-Russia talks.

Putin praised the American's "restraint" in the face of what he called "boorish" behavior by US allies.

He said he would be "happy to meet with Donald".

"But we are in such a situation that it is not enough to meet to have tea, coffee, sit and talk about the future. We need to ensure that our teams prepare issues that are extremely important for both the United States and Russia, including - but not only - on the Ukrainian track, in order to reach solutions acceptable to both sides."

Putin said this would be no easy task. He said that Trump himself, who during the US election campaign repeatedly promised to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, was now talking about a period of six months.

He said this was "natural" because Trump had simply begun to receive fresh information that changed his approach.