Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Sunday accused the United States, along with some other Western countries, of "seeking to cause chaos" in Iran to force its concessions in the talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, the Xinhua news agency reports.
"We do not let anybody incite riots and terrorism in our country," said Amir-Abdollahian made during a joint press conference with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic.
Speaking of his recent phone call with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Amir-Abdollahian said, "Only a lasting agreement capable of safeguarding Iranian people's interests would be valuable to Iran."
His comments come as protests continue in Iran following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the morality police.
Hundreds of protesters have been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest, including dozens of minors. In addition, at least six people have so far been handed death sentences over the demonstrations.
Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have claimed that the protests inside the country are the work of Israel and the United States.
Meanwhile, indirect talks between the US and Iran on a return to the 2015 deal remain stalled.
Iran in September announced it had submitted its comments to the US response to the European Union’s draft for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
While Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time that Iran’s response was prepared based on a constructive approach, a senior Biden administration official said the Iranian response "is not at all encouraging.”
A US official later said that the efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have “hit a wall” because of Iran's insistence on the closure of the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations.
More recently, the US envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, said that Iran's crackdown on protesters and the sale of drones to Russia have turned the United States' focus away from reviving the nuclear deal.