Iran refuses talks with US during Vienna meeting
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out any direct or indirect talks with the US one day before heading to Vienna for much-anticipated talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
Araghchi told reporters that there is only "one step", which is Washington lifting sanctions “imposed, re-imposed and relabeled" over the years, Reuters reported
"Our main condition is that the United States first fulfills all its obligations and removes all sanctions, and then we verify them and return to full compliance," Araghchi said, terming the Vienna talks as "purely technical".
Negotiations in Vienna between representatives of Iran, France, the UK, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU will begin on Tuesday in what could be a lengthy process to bring the US back to the nuclear deal and pave the way for Iran's reversal of recent measures.
The framework for Vienna talks was laid during the virtual meeting of the joint commission of the deal, also known as JCPOA on Friday.
Araghchi, who represented Iran in the meeting, underlined that Tehran will not attend any meeting in which the US is present, including the meeting of the joint commission of the nuclear pact.
On Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected a US proposal to gradually lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.