Iran says 'indirect' sanctions talks with US to resume in days

TEHRAN - "Indirect" talks between Iran and the United States aimed at removing US sanctions will resume this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said here Monday.

"The time and place of the talks are not certain, but the talks will take place this week and in one of the regional countries," Khatibzadeh said during his weekly press conference.

"I confirm that there has been an agreement in content, form and subject matter" of the next round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, which are the extension of previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna over the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, he said.

The nuclear deal is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Concerning the recent visit by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell to the Iranian capital of Tehran, Khatibzadeh said, "we hope that Borrell's messages (from the United States) will be implemented in practice as well," while expressing Iran's "distrust" of the United States.

He said that Iran is waiting to see whether the Americans will drop the "legacy" of former US President Donald Trump.

"What we will do in the next round of talks is not about the nuclear dimensions, but about a few issues concerning the lifting of sanctions," he said.

Khatibzadeh said nothing would be added to the already-agreed-upon points in the Vienna talks.

Negotiations will be held "indirectly" with the United States over differences. Now the "ball is in Washington's court, and if they come with a reply, an agreement is available," he noted.

Trump pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA to revive the deal, but the talks have been suspended since March over "political" differences between Tehran and Washington.

At a joint televised press conference on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Borrell announced that the talks would resume in the coming days to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal.

On Sunday, Iran's Nour News, affiliated with the country's Supreme National Security Council, reported that the new round of nuclear talks would likely be held in Qatar's capital Doha.