The US needs to make a decision to wrap up a deal to salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday amid fears talks in Vienna might collapse.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Efforts to clinch a new deal were left in limbo after a last-minute demand by Russia – now at odds with the West over its invasion of Ukraine – forced the powers to pause talks for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was in Russia for an official visit Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference, without elaborating.
Iran's Nour News, affiliated with a top security body, described the foreign minister's visit to Moscow as "a platform for serious, frank, and forward-looking talks" between two countries that have demonstrated that "they can work very closely, decisively, and successfully on complex issues."
"We are currently having a breather from the nuclear talks," said Khatibzadeh. "We are not at a point of announcing an agreement now since there are some important open issues that need to be decided upon by Washington."
The US State Department said on Friday Washington continued to believe a potential deal to return to the 2015 agreement was close but said decisions needed to be made in places such as Tehran and Moscow.
On March 5, Russia's foreign minister unexpectedly demanded sweeping guarantees that Russian trade with Iran would not be affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine – a demand Western powers said was unacceptable and Washington insisted it would not agree to.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian interests in the Iranian nuclear deal would be affected by Western sanctions against Moscow so the United States would have to ensure Russia's national interests were fully taken into account.
"The sanctions against Russia directly affect the interests of our country in relation to that deal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the talks on the restoration of the Iran deal.
Peskov said the United States knew Russia's position and that "there was a topic for the continuation of talks – it is really something that is very important for us."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
