Nuclear talks in Vienna
Nuclear talks in ViennaReuters

British Foreign Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday met Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Reuters reported.

A UK government spokesman said that during the meeting, Truss urged Iran to return rapidly to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiations in Vienna with a view to all sides coming back into compliance and reducing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

The two discussed bilateral, nuclear and regional issues, the spokesman added.

A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that Amir-Abdollahian would visit the United States in order to take part in the UN General Assembly, and would meet counterparts from countries party to the 2015 nuclear deal but not the US.

The Foreign Minister "will have separate and bilateral meetings" with the foreign ministers of China, France, Britain, Russia and Germany, the spokesman said.

A meeting with US officials is "not on the agenda", he stressed.

Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.

The previous government, headed by former President Hassan Rouhani, had been holding indirect talks with the US on a return to the agreement.

The negotiations were adjourned on June 20, two days after Ebrahim Raisi won Iran's presidential election, and no date has been set for a resumption of dialogue.

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said recently that Washington "can't wait forever" for Tehran to decide whether it wants to restart the talks.

In response, Iran said the United States is the one that withdrew from the deal, violated the resolution, and threatened those seeking to implement the agreement with punishment.