Monday, May 8, 2023

Iran says nuclear deal still possible, tells US to stop procrastinating

Iran says it is possible to salvage an agreement on reviving its nuclear deal if Western parties, particularly the US, put an end to repeated delays.

It comes five years after the US withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal that gave Iran relief from international sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

An agreement “is possible both in terms of the technical and political aspects,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani says.

He charges that “the other sides, especially the US, have procrastinated” on reviving the deal, while expressing hopes that they would show “political determination” for a committed return to its implementation.

In March, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran after his agency’s inspectors in the country found uranium particles enriched to just under weapons-grade level.