Iran said Monday that its indirect talks with the United States would resume this week in a Gulf country, as part of wider efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

The negotiations will be separate from broader talks in Vienna between Iran and major powers that are mediated by the EU, the bloc's top diplomat Joseph Borrell said Saturday in Tehran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the talks would focus on the lifting of sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran and be held "in a Persian Gulf country in the coming days, later this week".

The landmark nuclear deal has been hanging by a thread since 2018, when then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it and began imposing harsh economic sanctions on America's arch enemy.

US President Joe Biden's administration has sought to return to the agreement, saying it would be the best path ahead with the Islamic republic.

"What we will do in the coming days does not concern the nuclear dimension but existing differences (and) the lifting of sanctions," Khatibzadeh said.

"I hope that we will see positive results emerge from these talks," he told reporters.

"If Washington comes with answers, then we can do the work quickly ... The ball is in Washington's court."

Talks to revive the nuclear deal began in Vienna in April last year but hit a snag in March this year amid differences between Tehran and Washington, notably over a demand by Iran that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list.

During the Vienna talks Iran also repeatedly called for US guarantees that there will be no repeat of Trump's pull-out.

Following talks in Tehran on Saturday, Borrell said that negotiations to revive the nuclear deal would resume within days.

Bilateral US-Iran talks would be held separately in a Gulf country to avoid confusion with the broader Vienna talks, he added.

Neither Borrell nor Khatibzadeh identified the country that would host those discussions.

The 2015 accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was agreed after initial contacts between Iran and the United States in the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which has long maintained good relations with both countries.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

EU top diplomat bids to 'reverse tensions' on surprise Iran visit
Tehran (AFP) June 24, 2022
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to travel to Tehran on Friday for a surprise visit that could breathe new life into stalled talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Borrell was due to arrive in the Iranian capital at night to meet Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. "Diplomacy is the only way to go back to full implementation of the deal and to reverse current tensions," Borrell twe ... read more