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Iran Ready to Discuss How US Can Return to Nuclear Deal, Foreign Minister Says

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Tehran is ready to discuss how Washington can return to the deal on the Iranian nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
Sputnik

“If the United States wants to become a participant of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the membership in which was rejected by [incumbent US President Donald] Trump, we are ready to discuss how the United States can join the JCPOA,” Zarif told Iran newspaper.

Iran has repeatedly stated that it is ready to negotiate with the United States only within the framework of the nuclear deal and only with the participation of other countries, demanding for this the return to the agreement, the lifting of sanctions, compensation for damage and additional obligations that Washington would not withdraw from the agreement again.

Earlier in the day, French and German foreign ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas urged the United States to return to a common approach towards Iran in order to make sure that the Iranian nuclear program is peaceful.

Iran and the six international negotiators in July 2015 reached a historic agreement to resolve the longstanding problem of the Iranian nuclear program.

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The months-long talks ended with the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the implementation of which will completely remove from Iran the previously imposed economic and financial sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US and the EU.

The agreement, in particular, envisioned that the arms embargo would be lifted from Iran within five years, the supply of weapons is possible earlier, but only with the permission of the UN Security Council. 

The deal in its original form did not last even three years: in May 2018, the United States announced a unilateral withdrawal from it and reinstatement of tough sanctions against Tehran.

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