Iran did not negotiate ‘seriously’

The US diplomat warned that the United States would not accept a situation in which Tehran would expand its nuclear program and use negotiations only to buy time. He called on Iran to “show seriousness” and return to the negotiating table and once again abide by the terms of the nuclear deal. The United States remains ready to return to its commitments and lift sanctions that contravene the agreement.

European diplomats were also disappointed on Friday after five days of talks and accused Tehran of taking a destructive stance. “Iran is violating almost all the tough compromises that were agreed upon in several months of tough negotiations,” said German, French and British negotiators. Thus, the time window for a diplomatic solution is getting smaller and smaller.

The goal of the negotiations is to restrict the Iranian nuclear program again and to lift US sanctions on the Islamic Republic. This is to save the 2015 nuclear deal that is supposed to prevent the development of nuclear weapons in Iran. Then US President Donald Trump unilaterally terminated the agreement in 2018. When talks were suspended for five months in June, some elements of a potential agreement had already been worked out. In the Vienna talks, the three EU countries with Russia and China mediated between Iran and the United States.