The negotiation process between Tehran and Washington on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program continues without interruption, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Monday.
"The negotiation process continues, the issue is not off the agenda," IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. - "However, the contradictory statements and actions of US officials cause a significant delay in these negotiations. Now the issue of returning to the nuclear deal depends on the US government's decision."
Kanani also noted that the US side "has made the prisoner exchange agreement contingent on a return to the JCPOA." Tehran has repeatedly stressed that this issue is a humanitarian one and should not be linked to any political dossier, the diplomatic spokesman pointed out.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said October 15 that the US administration continues to believe that diplomacy will help restore the nuclear deal with Iran, although it has not rejected its support for demonstrators in the Islamic Republic.
The JCPOA was signed with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear developments by the permanent UN Security Council Five and Germany. Previous US President Donald Trump decided in 2018 to withdraw from the arrangement. Current US President Joe Biden has repeatedly signaled his willingness to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal with Tehran. Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the US and France have been negotiating with Iran in Vienna since last April to restore the JCPOA to its original form. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on October 14 that an agreement on the JCPOA was within reach, but that many factors were affecting the environment surrounding the issue.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS