Iran reveals expectations about Vienna nuclear talks
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told the public on Friday that his government “never has hope” in the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna. The negotiations aim to bring Iran and the US back in line with an agreement reached during the era of then-American leader Barack Obama.
Speaking in a televised speech commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution, the president said the country would “pin its hope” on the Iranian people, and seek to ensure balanced and good relations with its neighbors.
“We put our hopes in the east, west, north, south of our country and never have hope in Vienna and New York,” Raisi stated.
“In our foreign policy, we seek balanced relations with the world and attach special importance to neighboring countries,” the Iranian president went on to say.
Negotiations commenced in Vienna in late 2021 in an attempt to bring Iran and the US back in line with the terms of the nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration in 2015, which envisioned comprehensive outside oversight of Iran’s civilian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
In addition to the US and Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) involved China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK.
The Trump administration pulled the US out of the deal in May 2018, however, and imposed additional sanctions against Tehran. Relations between Iran and the US have continued to deteriorate in the subsequent years.
