Iran says Vienna nuclear talks to resume over weekend

By Muhammet Kursun
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran said Monday that the next round of talks with world powers on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal will take place over the weekend.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Tehran is engaged in the talks according to drafts it has submitted to other sides in the negotiations.

“There is no temporary or phased agreement. The other parties (in negotiation) did not object to the text presented by Iran,” Khatibzadeh told reporters. He noted that the parties promised to evaluate the draft, but made it clear that “they cannot meet all the demands."

The Iranian spokesman underlined that the negotiations were not over and that new proposal drafts would be submitted if necessary.

He blamed the other sides in the negotiations for not demonstrating the “necessary flexibility” in talks, insisting that Tehran will not accept “anything less than the nuclear agreement”.

Following a five-month break, Iran and world powers resumed their talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, last week in a last-ditch attempt to restore the 2015 nuclear accord that former US President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from in May 2018.

The talks, however, ended on Thursday without achieving a breakthrough.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar