Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Wednesday that if the “red lines” of the Islamic Republic are respected, Iran is ready to take final steps to reach an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Xinhua news agency reported.
He said that there was an opportunity to discuss issues related to the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions with EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU coordinator for the nuclear talks Enrique Mora, during his visit to Jordan on Tuesday.
"Our understanding is that the parties (to the nuclear deal) are returning to realism, and we also announced that if our red lines are respected, we are ready to take the final steps to reach an agreement," Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as having told reporters at the conclusion of his visit to Amman.
He said that over the last few months, the United States has repeatedly declared its preference for the final steps of all parties for the return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but they behaved "hypocritically in the media."
Indirect talks between the US and Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have been stalled since September, when Iran 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.
On Tuesday, footage surfaced on social media of US President Joe Biden saying on the sidelines of a recent election rally that the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is “dead,” but the US would not formally announce it.
Asked by Axios about the video of Biden, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, “The JCPOA is not our focus right now. It’s not on the agenda."
"We don’t see a deal coming together anytime soon," the spokesperson said, pointing to Iran's crackdown on protesters and support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. "Our focus is on practical ways to confront them in these areas."