Iran Says it Responded to EU Proposal Aimed at Salvaging Nuclear Deal

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2022. (AP)
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Iran Says it Responded to EU Proposal Aimed at Salvaging Nuclear Deal

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2022. (AP)

Iran has responded to top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell's proposal aimed at salvaging Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and seeks a swift conclusion to negotiations, the top Iranian nuclear negotiator said on Sunday.

"We shared our proposed ideas, both on substance & form, to pave the way for a swift conclusion of Vienna negotiations," Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted, without giving any more details on Iran's position.

"As Iran, we stand ready to conclude the negotiations in a short order, should the other side be ready to do the same."

On Tuesday, Borrell said he had proposed a new draft text to revive the accord under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

Then-US President Donald Trump reneged on the deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions, prompting Iran to violate the deal's nuclear limits.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal aimed to make it harder for Iran to amass the fissile material for a nuclear weapon, an ambition Iran has long denied, saying its atomic program was for peaceful purposes.

On Tuesday, the State Department said it was reviewing Borrell's proposal and would respond to the EU.



Iran, US End Nuclear Talks in Rome, Agree to Meet Next Week

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (not pictured) in Rome, April 19, 2025. Abbas Araqchi via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (not pictured) in Rome, April 19, 2025. Abbas Araqchi via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US End Nuclear Talks in Rome, Agree to Meet Next Week

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (not pictured) in Rome, April 19, 2025. Abbas Araqchi via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (not pictured) in Rome, April 19, 2025. Abbas Araqchi via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to hold another round of talks next week over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Iranian state TV reported, as they ended their second round of negotiations in Rome over their decades-long standoff.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff negotiated indirectly through an Omani official who will shuttle messages between the two sides, Iranian officials said, a week after a first round of indirect talks in Muscat that both sides described as constructive.

Araqchi and Witkoff interacted briefly at the end of the first round, but officials from the two countries have not held direct negotiations since 2015 under former US President Barack Obama.

Araqchi, in a meeting with his Italian counterpart ahead of the talks, said Iran had always been committed to diplomacy and called on "all parties involved in the talks to seize the opportunity to reach a reasonable and logical nuclear deal".

"Such an agreement should respect Iran's legitimate rights and lead to the lifting of unjust sanctions on the country while addressing any doubts about its nuclear work," Araqchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He said in Moscow on Friday that Iran believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear program with the US is possible as long as Washington is realistic.

"Rome becomes the capital of peace and dialogue," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X. "I encouraged (Araqchi) to follow the path of negotiation against nuclear arms. The hope of the Italian government is that all together may find a positive solution for the Middle East."

For his part, Trump told reporters on Friday: "I'm for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can't have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific."