Iran not deserting path of nuclear talks despite distrust: Gov’t spox
Iran’s government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday that despite a lack of trust in the nuclear talks with the United States, the Islamic Republic is not walking away from the path of negotiations.
Mohajerani said that the negotiations had been ongoing since the previous government and were not halted, but contradictory statements by the US officials caused problems, and in the middle of the talks, they attacked Iran – an issue that created mistrust toward negotiations in Iran.
“Over the past two decades, we have demonstrated this (Iran’s commitment to negotiations) as well. Iran is committed to negotiation and diplomacy. Our diplomacy with neighboring countries and regional states proves this", Mohajerani said.
Mohajerani, citing the Iranian foreign minister, said no date has been set for the resumption of talks, and may not be held very soon.
"In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations and I think with all these considerations, we still need more time." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News.
In April, Iran and the US began new negotiations to resolve a decades-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. They held five rounds of the talks mediated by Oman. But the six round of the negotiations, which had been scheduled for June 15, was canceled after Israel launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran. The US joined the aggression by striking key Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22.
Following the attacks by Israel, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said further nuclear talks with the US are now “meaningless”. “The other side has done something that makes dialogue meaningless,” the ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.
On Monday, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations said they supported the cease-fire between Israel and Iran and urged for negotiations to resume for a nuclear deal, according to a joint statement.
"We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran's nuclear program," the G7 foreign ministers said.
The G7 foreign ministers said they urged "all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region."