Iran Serious In Talks With US, Seeks No Delay
TEHRAN, April 21 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday the country is serious in its indirect negotiations with the United States and wants no delay in the diplomatic process, Xinhua reported.
Gharibabadi made the remarks at a meeting with members of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Tehran, the official news agency IRNA quoted the committee's spokesperson, Ebrahim Rezaei, as saying.
Gharibabadi said that Tehran and Washington, during their second round of indirect talks in the Italian capital Rome on Saturday, discussed and agreed on "the overall framework, agenda, and (subsequent) technical talks."
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According to Rezaei, the deputy foreign minister has stressed that "all sanctions (on Iran) should be lifted in a way that benefits the Iranian people economically," while emphasising that Tehran would not negotiate on its right to enrich uranium, which he said is "among the red lines."
The Rome talks and the previous round of Iran-US dialogue that took place in the Omani capital Muscat on April 12 have centred on Tehran's nuclear programme and the removal of Washington's sanctions.
Hailed by both sides as "constructive," the talks followed US President Donald Trump's threats to bomb Iran if the Middle Eastern country does not accept his offer for talks outlined in a letter sent to Iran's leadership in early March.
In July 2015, Iran signed a nuclear deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US.
Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal accepts restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
However, the US withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.
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