Iran urges U.S. to seize chance of upcoming nuke talks

TEHRAN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday that the United States should seize the opportunity of a new round of negotiations to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement.

"Heading to Vienna to advance the negotiations. The onus is on those who breached the deal and failed to distance from ominous legacy," Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted.

"The U.S. must seize the opportunity offered by the JCPOA partners' generosity; ball is in their court to show maturity and act responsibly," added Bagheri Kani, also Iran's deputy foreign minister.

Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (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.

The talks resumed in late June in Qatar's capital Doha but failed to settle the differences.