Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, stated in a video released on Telegram on Monday (September 23) that Iran is willing to initiate nuclear negotiations during the United Nations General Assembly in New York if “other parties are willing.”
In 2018, under the leadership of then-President Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by Iran and six major world powers. According to the agreement, Tehran restricted its controversial nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Currently, indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran to revive the agreement have stalled. Iran remains a member of the agreement in formality, but due to the reimplementation of sanctions by the United States, Iran has reduced its commitment to the agreement.
Araqchi mentioned, “I will stay in New York for several days longer than the President, holding more meetings with foreign ministers from various countries, and we will focus on initiating a new round of negotiations on the nuclear agreement.”
He added that information has been exchanged through Switzerland and a “general readiness statement” has been issued, but he cautioned that “the current international situation makes the resumption of negotiations more complex and difficult than before.”
Araqchi stated that he will not meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying, “I believe such a dialogue is not appropriate. There have been such meetings in the past, but currently, there is no suitable reason. We still have a long way to go before holding direct talks.”
Since the Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran has consistently refused to engage in direct negotiations with Washington, preferring mediation through European or Arab intermediaries.
Iranian leaders hope for the easing of sanctions by the United States to mitigate the severe economic damage, but tensions have escalated between Iran and Western countries since October 7 last year when Iran-supported Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, and Tehran increased its support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict.
The Biden administration has stated that the United States is not yet ready to resume nuclear negotiations with Iran.
(Reference: Reuters report)