Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has called on the international community not to give in to Iran's "nuclear blackmail" and agree to restore the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal).
He argued that Tehran will be demanding in the new round of negotiations in Vienna the lifting of all sanctions, while allegedly giving nothing in return. Bennett added that Iran should not be "rewarded".
"Despite Iran's violations and undermining of the nuclear inspections, Iran will be arriving at the negotiation table in Vienna, and there are those who think they deserve to have their sanctions removed and hundreds of billions of dollars poured right into their rotten regime. They're wrong", the Israeli prime minister said.
Bennett's plea to the international community comes as signatories of the JCPOA gather in Vienna to resume negotiations on restoring the deal that suffered a devastating blow from the US after it decided to withdraw from the accord and slap Iran with sanctions.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh has stated that the country came to Vienna with the intention of salvaging the deal, noting that the size of the delegation was increased compared to the May 2021 talks that ended up in a deadlock.
"The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in Vienna with a firm determination to reach an agreement and is looking forward to fruitful talks. The government has shown its willingness and seriousness by sending a quality team known to all. If the other side shows the same willingness, we will be on the right track to reach an agreement", Khatibzadeh said.
The spokesman noted that the "path of dialogue will certainly be easier" if this time the US came with the intention of breaking the deadlock. Last time the two countries failed to reach common ground on the issue of who should be the first to return to compliance. Tehran insisted that Washington must lift its sanctions first. The US stated that it could only be done once Iran returns to JCPOA compliance that it had violated in the aftermath of Washington's withdrawal from the accord.