Iran denies direct talks with US
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman denied the statements of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, saying that Iran has not had any direct talks with the US in recent months and during the Vienna talks.
Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a press conference on December 20, in response to statements by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan regarding sending a direct message to Tehran: "No direct talks have been held with the US regarding the Vienna talks during the months that the talks have been ongoing in Vienna."
According to Mehr News Agency, he stated that since the beginning of the negotiations in Vienna, "some messages have been received through Mr. Enrique Moura, both written and unwritten, regarding the topics of the negotiations," adding that the responses to these messages "have been given in due course."
Enrique Moura is the EU's deputy foreign policy chief and coordinator of the Vienna negotiations.
Regarding the US proposals, Khatibzadeh said that the country "has not presented any concrete proposal or text to the 4+1, contrary to what it is stating today," and this, he said, "places a big question mark on America's intentions."
He also criticized Germany, France, and Britain, which are leading negotiations with Iran to revive the JCPOA, saying that these countries "have engaged in media campaigns and are providing false and fabricated information to the media."
The spokesman for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that Iran is holding direct talks with the United States, while negotiations between the 4+1 group and Iran have begun with the aim of reviving the JCPOA and returning the United States to this agreement.
The seventh round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna was halted again on Friday, December 17. At the same time, the European countries that are parties to the nuclear deal (Britain, France, and Germany) issued a joint statement citing Iran's request as the reason for the halt in the negotiations, calling it a disappointing move.
In response, Ali Bagheri Kani, the Islamic Republic's chief negotiator, denied Iran's request to halt the negotiations, saying, "We had agreed from the beginning that after reaching a draft agreement, we would go on a normal break."
Meanwhile, the “Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly” on December 15, in a report titled “Vienna Negotiations: Clash of Wills and War of Narratives,” referred to what it called “America’s attempt to conclude a unilateral and incomplete agreement,” and predicted that “the outcome of the negotiations will not lead to an early and lasting agreement.”
An exact date for the resumption of these negotiations has not yet been announced.
Source: DW
