US administration says direct talks are ‘urgently needed’ to facilitate communication to restore the Iran nuclear deal.
Tehran is willing to engage in direct talks with Washington if negotiations to revive the Iranian nuclear deal reach an advanced stage that requires such dialogue, Iran’s foreign minister has said.
Hossein Amirabdollahian’s remarks on Monday came as United States officials have been urging direct negotiations to restore the 2015 accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“However, if we get to a stage where reaching a good deal with strong guarantees necessitates direct talks with the US, we will consider it.”.
Instead, the two sides have been negotiating indirectly in Vienna to revive the deal, which saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy.
Last month, Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, told Al Jazeera that US diplomats are willing to meet their Iranian counterparts “at any time and any place”.