Skip to main content

Iran says ready for nuclear talks if West is ‘serious’

Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear programme if Western countries show they are “serious”, the foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying in an interview published on Thursday.

“We have said several times that we are ready for discussions, but only if the other side is serious about this,” Esmaeil Baqaei said.

Tehran has signalled to the West several times recently indicating a willingness to reach an agreement over its nuclear programme.

In an interview with Sky News posted to his official Telegram channel on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the new US administration should work to win back Tehran’s trust if it wants a new round of nuclear talks.

In Thursday’s interview, Baqaei expressed hope that new US President Donald Trump would adopt a “realistic approach” towards Iran.

During his first term which ended in 2021, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure”, withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Asked about the possibility of new talks, Baqaei was quoted on Thursday as saying Iran’s policy would depend on “the actions of the other parties”.

Tehran adhered to the deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — until a year after Washington’s withdrawal in 2018, but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered.

Iran has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the nuclear deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office last July, has called for an end to his country’s isolation.

Before Trump’s return to the White House, Iranian officials held nuclear talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany that both sides described as “frank and constructive”.

In December, the three Western governments accused Tehran of growing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to “unprecedented levels” without “any credible civilian justification” and discussed the possible reimposition of sanctions.

On Thursday, Baqaei warned that if this happened, Iran’s adherence to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “would no longer have any meaning”.

Under the NPT, signatory states are obliged to declare their nuclear stockpiles and place them under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/sQRMAg6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

In pictures: Grief in Gaza and the loss of a child

In the photo, the woman cradles a child in her arms, balanced on her knee. It is an image that resonates, as ancient as human history. But in a grim inversion of the familiar, we see that the child she holds close is a corpse, wrapped in a shroud. It is a quiet moment of intense grief. The woman wears a headscarf and her head is bowed. We cannot see who she is nor can we learn anything about the child — not even if it is a boy or girl. Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. The child is one of many who have lost their lives on both sides in the Israel-Hamas war. Most have names we will never know, whose deaths will spark a lifetime of grief for family members we will never meet. In the 21st century, an average of almost 20 children a day have been killed or maimed in wars around the world, according to Unicef. Reuter...