Iran Holds Internal Consultations To Continue Negotiations On JCPOA - Foreign Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2021) Tehran has been holding internal consultations about reviving negotiations on the nuclear deal and the lifting of US sanctions, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Monday during a phone conversation with his UK counterpart, Dominic Raab.

"Iran will welcome negotiations that bring tangible results and safeguard the rights and interests of the (Iranian) people. The government is holding internal consultations on how to proceed with negotiations in Vienna," Amirabdollahian was cited as saying by the Iranian Fars news agency.

The Monday phone call with Raab was the first for the newly appointed Iranian foreign minister. The statesmen discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and Raab called on Iran to "release all arbitrarily detained British Nationals and to return to the JCPOA talks in Vienna," the top UK diplomat tweeted.

Over the weekend, Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency director general, met with the head of the Iranian nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, in Tehran. According to a joint statement, the two affirmed a spirit of cooperation and mutual trust, expressing willingness to maintain it.

Eslami and Grossi are expected to meet again on the sidelines of the upcoming nuclear energy General Conference in Vienna, set to begin on September 20.

The sixth round of negotiations to restore the JCPOA and lift US sanctions in Vienna ended on June 20. The work to restore the deal was completed by almost 90%, Russia's envoy in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, previously said. Tehran, in turn, maintains that the new government under President-elect Ibrahim Raisi is ready to get back to the negotiating table and continue the talks.