Iran says proposed ideas submitted to accelerate nuclear talks

TEHRAN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran has submitted proposed ideas in "both substance and form" to the other sides of the Vienna talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, to pave the way for the "swift conclusion" of the talks, Iran's top negotiator said Sunday.

Ali Bagheri Kani, also deputy Iranian foreign minister for political affairs, said on Twitter that Tehran is ready to conclude the negotiations in a short period provided that the other sides would also be prepared to do the same.

Bagheri Kani added the nuclear talks, which started in the Austrian capital in April 2021, were aimed at "fixing the damaging complicated situation caused by the U.S. unilateral and unlawful withdrawal" from the nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018.

He gave the assurance that Iran is working closely with its JCPOA partners, in particular the European Union foreign policy chief and Coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission Josep Borrell, to give the United States another chance to prove its "good faith" and "act responsibly."

Iran signed the JCPOA 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 reviving the JCPOA began in April 2021 in the Austrian capital 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.