Iran says 'serious' about reaching a revived nuclear deal

Iran remains "serious" about reaching a revived nuclear deal, said the country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as the talks between the parties in Vienna, remain stalled. While addressing a joint press conference on Thursday (June 23) with visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Abdollahian said that the nuclear negotiations "train has reached difficult stops" as they near the end.

Amir-Abdollahian stressed Iran was "serious about reaching a good, strong and lasting agreement" and called for similar realism from the US side. "I hope we can reach the final point of the agreement in the near future with realism from the American side," he said.

During his visit to Iran, Lavrov said that Moscow fully supports the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers. Notably, Russia was a party to the original 2015 deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran has taken part in the on-off talks that opened in Vienna in April last year. Also, indirect talks between Tehran and USPresident Joe Biden's administration have been taking place to reinstate the pact.

The main agenda remains to bringWashington back into the agreement after former President Donald Trump's 2018 withdrawal.

Tehran's rulers are also struggling to keep Iran's economy afloat because of USsanctions that were reimposed after Washington exited Tehran's nuclear deal in 2018.

Lavrov told the news conference: "Today, with the other participants in the JCPOA... we are making every effort to repair the American error when the United States left the JCPOA."

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Apart from Iran,Russia is also grappling with the economic impact of Western actions as Moscow has faced sanctions in the aftermath of its decision to invade Ukrainein February this year.

"We oppose illegal sanctions against countries including Russia," Amir-Abdollahian said.

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