Iran says U.S. "contradictory behavior" main obstacle to nuclear agreement

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that the contradiction in the U.S. officials' words and actions is the main obstacle to an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Speaking at a weekly press conference, Kanaani added that U.S. officials sent messages to voice their viewpoints about the nuclear talks on the one hand, while showing contradictory behaviors in practice on the other.

He noted that Washington's approach failed to contribute to or supplement the nuclear talks.

Kanaani stressed that "grounds exist for reviving the nuclear deal and all sides' return to it," but the issue currently hinges on the U.S. government's political decision.

"We can return to the deal" whenever the United States shows the necessary will, he said.

However, Iran will not keep waiting for an agreement, Kanaani emphasized.

Iran signed the 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 removing sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna, but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus.

On Aug. 8, the European Union put forward its final text of the draft decision on reviving the JCPOA. Iran and the United States later indirectly exchanged views on the proposal in a process that has so far failed to produce any favorable outcome.