TEHRAN: Iran Open to Nuclear Talks if West Shows Seriousness
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman stated on Thursday that the country is willing to discuss its nuclear program, but only if Western nations demonstrate that they are serious about the negotiations. Esmaeil Baqaei expressed this sentiment in an interview with the government daily, Iran.
"We have repeatedly said we are prepared for discussions, but this depends on the other side showing they are genuine," Baqaei mentioned.
Recently, Tehran has indicated a readiness to reach an agreement regarding its nuclear activities. In a separate interview with Sky News, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized that the new U.S. administration must work to rebuild trust with Tehran to initiate a new round of talks on the nuclear issue.
Baqaei expressed optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump would take a more realistic stance towards Iran following his return to the presidency. During his first term, which ended in 2021, Trump applied a “maximum pressure” strategy and pulled the U.S. out of a significant nuclear agreement that had placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
When asked about the likelihood of fresh negotiations, Baqaei noted that Iran’s policy would largely depend on the actions of other countries.
In another focus, Iran has urged France to reassess what it called an "unconstructive" approach ahead of upcoming meetings. Tehran had complied with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) until one year after Washington exited the deal in 2018, after which Iran began reducing its commitments under the agreement.
Attempts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have encountered challenges. Despite these setbacks, Iran continues to express its willingness to reestablish the nuclear agreement. President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office last July, has called for an end to Iran’s isolation on the global stage.
Before Trump’s return to the White House, Iranian representatives engaged in discussions with their counterparts from Britain, France, and Germany, which both sides described as "frank and constructive."
In December, these three Western nations accused Iran of increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to "unprecedented levels" without any credible civil justification and hinted at the possible reimposition of sanctions. Baqaei warned on Thursday that if sanctions were reinstated, Iran’s commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would lose its significance.
The NPT requires signatory countries to declare their nuclear inventories and submit to oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
