European negotiators in talks to salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers presented no "new practical initiatives" and were not constructive in the last round that paused on Dec. 17, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Thursday.
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The negotiations are slated to resume on Dec. 27, Russia and the European Union's foreign service said earlier on Thursday, a day after the US national security adviser warned the troubled talks with Iran could be exhausted within weeks.
"We do not see the position of some European countries as constructive, specifically that of France," Iranian state media quoted Amirabdollahian as saying.
"When they say they are concerned about the progress of Iran's nuclear program, we say out loud: 'If you want to have your concerns addressed, then all sanctions must be lifted.'"
The talks have made scant progress since they resumed earlier this month after a five-month hiatus following the election of hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Tehran has sought changes to an outline of a deal that had taken shape in six previous rounds of talks, leaving them largely deadlocked while Western powers warned that time was running out to rein in Iran's fast-advancing nuclear activities.
Senior British, French and German diplomats offered a pessimistic assessment of efforts to revive the deal under which Iran had limited its disputed nuclear program in return for relief from U, European Union and UN economic sanctions.
Amirabdollahian said Iran had "managed to get [our] views orally approved by all parties in the draft that will be discussed next week." He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, Iranian media on Thursday reported that Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has called for direct negotiations between Iran and the US.
Hussein spoke at a news conference after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Tehran, stressing that heightened tension between Iran and the US – Baghdad's two powerful allies – directly affects his country's stability.
While Iraq remains a pillar of Washington's security policy in the region, Iranian-backed militias wield extensive power in the country.
"Any opening in Tehran-Washington relations will positively impact Iraq's internal situation from political, economic and security perspectives," Hussein said.
"We think it's time for direct talks between Tehran and Washington so that the two countries reach a common understanding not only on the nuclear issue but also on sanctions imposed on Iran," he said.
Hussein also touched on the hasty evacuation and sudden death of Iran's top diplomat in war-torn Yemen, Hassan Irloo, whom Washington has identified as a member of Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. He said the US cooperated with Saudi Arabia and Iran to transfer Irloo on an Iraqi plane from Yemen to Tehran, where Iranian authorities said he died of COVID-19.
There was no immediate comment from Washington on its reported assistance. Yemen's Houthi rebels had sought permission for his transfer from Saudi Arabia, which maintains an air blockade on Yemen's capital of Sanaa.
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