Iran has ruled out direct negotiations with the United States, but has reiterated its satisfaction with the Omani initiative which aims to break the diplomatic impasse surrounding the revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani considered Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq’s recent proposal as an initiative to bridge some of the gap between the parties.
“The initiatives and plans proposed by some friendly countries, including the Sultan of Oman are neither a new agreement nor a new plan, but a practical initiative to bring the points of view of the JCPOA parties closer to each other and return all parties to this nuclear deal reached in 2015,” said Kanaani.
“The diplomatic channel and the exchange of messages remain open, and this process is ongoing,” affirmed Kanaani.
However, the spokesperson went on to say: “We will not engage in direct negotiations with the US, and there is no plan for direct negotiations.”
Last year, nuclear negotiations stumbled in the final stages as Tehran held firm on its conditions, including the closure of an international investigation into nuclear activities at two secret sites where traces of uranium of human origin were found by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Western diplomats say that Iran rejected at least two drafts to reach an agreement during the past year.
The IAEA estimates that Iran has enough enriched uranium at 60% to develop three nuclear bombs. Additionally, it possesses larger quantities of 20% enriched uranium.
In parallel with the revival talks of the nuclear agreement in April 2021, Tehran began enriching uranium to 60%.
