In a report titled "Iran: Serious About Nuclear Negotiations Amid Warnings," the Al Arabiya website highlighted that despite international warnings regarding the dangers of the Iranian nuclear program, Tehran is attempting to project the opposite. Muhammad Islami, the Assistant to the President and head of the Iranian Nuclear Energy Organization, stated that Tehran has fulfilled its commitments regarding the nuclear agreement, claiming that the United States has violated its role amid European inaction, as he put it.
During discussions with the Austrian ambassador in Tehran, Wolfgang Dietrich Haindl, on Wednesday, Islami urged the international community to encourage the European parties and the United States to fulfill their commitments in negotiations with Iran. He confirmed that Iran has a serious will to negotiate, provided that all parties return to fulfilling their obligations.
### International Warnings and Call to Resume Negotiations
This comes as the British Foreign Office emphasized that Iran's nuclear program is more advanced and concerning than ever before. James Cleverly, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, stated on Tuesday that Iran has failed to adhere to the nuclear agreement for more than two years, noting that Tehran continues to enhance its capabilities in a permanent and irreversible manner. Meanwhile, the European Union urged Iranians to resume negotiations that began in Vienna to save the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 with major powers, which were suspended in June following the election of a new president in Iran. In Washington, the US State Department called on Iran to resume talks to return to the agreement "as soon as possible."
### The 2015 Agreement
The agreement in Vienna was reached in 2015 between Tehran and the P5+1 group (China, the United States, France, Britain, Russia, and Germany, in addition to the European Union). It stipulates the easing of international sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and guarantees against the development of a nuclear bomb. Washington unilaterally withdrew from the agreement under former President Donald Trump in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran that the agreement stipulated should be lifted. In turn, Tehran gradually abandoned restrictions outlined in the agreement. Additionally, current US President Joe Biden has expressed a willingness to return to the agreement on the condition that Tehran resumes honoring its commitments concurrently.
### Stalled Negotiations
The nuclear negotiations that began in Vienna in April remain stalled since June after six rounds of talks failed to reach consensus on some outstanding issues. Despite Iranian officials repeatedly confirming their readiness to return to the negotiating table soon, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently stated that his country conditions the lifting of US sanctions as a goodwill gesture before resuming nuclear talks.
