WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – The United States is stepping up the pace in talks to restore the nuclear pact with Iran. “This cannot go on forever because of Iran’s nuclear advances,” a senior State Department official said in Washington on Monday (local time). This is not a “threat” or an “artificial deadline,” but a demand that Iran has been told indirectly for a long time. “Now is the time for political decisions.” It is time for Iran to decide whether the country is ready to return to the nuclear pact. Otherwise you will also know how to deal with it.
The negotiations in Vienna had been interrupted so that the diplomats could travel to their capitals for consultations. According to the negotiators, this is the final stage of the talks. Germany, France and Britain, along with Russia and China, have been mediating between Iran and the United States for months to salvage the 2015 deal.
The aim is to lift US economic sanctions and, in return, to restrict Iran’s nuclear program again in order to prevent the development of nuclear weapons. Under former US President Donald Trump, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement.
It would be best if the parties with the most stakes met face-to-face, the US government official said. “We are ready to meet with Iran if they are ready to meet with us.” There are currently no signs of this./nau/DP/he