Iran urges U.S. to stop "excessive demands" about reaching nuke deal

TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday urged the United States to stop "excessive demands" about reaching an agreement in the talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, according to the foreign ministry's website.

In a phone call with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Amir-Abdollahian also reiterated Iran's determination to reach a "good, robust and lasting" agreement in the nuclear talks.

In a separate phone call with Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, on Monday night, Amir-Abdollahian urged the White House to stop "resorting to pressure and sanctions as leverage" in the nuclear talks.

Both Al-Thani and Borrell expressed understanding about Iran's efforts to reach a final agreement in the nuclear talks.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

After a three-month pause, the talks resumed in late June in Qatar's capital Doha, but failed to settle the differences.