Iran does not rule out meeting in New York to revive nuclear pact

Tehran, Sep 19 (EFE).- A meeting to resurrect the 2015 nuclear agreement during President Ebrahim Raisi’s five-day trip to New York for the UN General Assembly session was “not ruled out” by Iran on Monday.

Raisi left for the United States, but the president dismissed any possibility of meeting with US leaders in New York.

“There is no meeting scheduled on the (nuclear deal),” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani told reporters.

However, the spokesperson said: “I do not rule out the possibility of a meeting” to revive the stalled pact.

Kanani said Iran took “every opportunity” to express its views on the issues of mutual and international interest, and meetings like the UNGA were “a good opportunity” to do that.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani is accompanying the president during his stay in New York.

Iran has been negotiating the restoration of the 2015 nuclear agreement for 17 months with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and, indirectly, the US.

The pact limited the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

Then US President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018.

The European Union forwarded a final text to revive the nuclear deal in August. Iran and the US have submitted their comments on the draft.

The negotiations seemed to be in their final stretch, but the parties seemed deadlocked to concluding the pact.

Kananí stressed that Tehran had not left the negotiating table.

Iran wanted the US to commit to stop investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.

The US and its allies rejected the demand, arguing the investigations could only conclude when Iran had given satisfactory answers to the UN nuclear watchdog.

The issue has stalled the final resolution again. EFE

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