2015 Nuclear Deal, Iran: US Government Takes Accounts Again And Meets Its Responsibilities

Iranian missile illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency)

JAKARTA - Iran reiterated on Monday that the removal of US sanctions was Tehran's red line in talks with world powers in Vienna, Australia, in a bid to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

This was conveyed by a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement to reporters, saying the talks would resume on Tuesday.

On Friday, the United States restored sanctions waivers that would have allowed international nuclear cooperation with Iran on projects designed to make it more difficult for Iran's nuclear sites to be used to develop weapons, although a senior State Department official said that was not a sign Washington was on the verge of imminent to reach an agreement.

"The issue of removing sanctions and Iran benefiting from it is Iran's red line in talks," Saeed Khatibzadeh said, citing Reuters on February 7.

"Washington has decided to take steps that have no impact on Iran's economic situation. The responsible (US) government must return to the deal and fulfill its obligations," he stressed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Sunday described the US move as 'good but not enough'.

Iran, which denies ever seeking a nuclear bomb, has gradually breached the nuclear pact's nuclear limits in reaction to the then-US. President Donald Trump's 2018 withdrawal from the pact between Tehran and the six powers and the reimposition of crippling sanctions against Iran.

To note, Tehran and Washington have held eight rounds of indirect talks since April in Vienna aimed at restoring the deal, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of international sanctions that had hit its oil exports.

Talks broke off on January 28 when top negotiators returned to their respective capitals for consultations. US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley on Sunday said he would return to Vienna soon, insisting the pact could still be revived.

Khatibzadeh said Iran's lead nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani would return to Vienna on Tuesday, when talks would resume.