Iran says ready to enter talks soon with the West to agree on a new nuclear deal

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the Islamic Republic is ready to resume constructive and immediate talks on its nuclear program.

“We are still ready to enter constructive dialogue without any delay about our nuclear program, a dialogue with the aim of reaching an agreement,” Araghchi told China’s CCTV in an interview aired on Saturday.

President-elect Donald Trump quit the nuclear deal in his first term with Iran in 2018 and returned the all the previous sanctions lifted under the deal and added new ones.

According to the deal, deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to put limits on its nuclear work in return for the termination of financial and economic sanctions.

The JCPOA was clinched in 2015 between Iran and the 5+1 group, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, after nearly two years of intensive negotiations.

“We negotiated for more than two years with the 5+1 countries in good will and finally we succeeded to reach an agreement that was praised and accepted by the entire world as a diplomatic achievement,” Araghchi explained who acted as Iran’s second ranking diplomat in the talks at the time.

“We implemented it with good will but it was the U.S. that decided to withdraw from it without any reason and justification and brought the situation to this point.”

The chief diplomat added the formula that Iran has in its mind for resolving the nuclear issue is the same previous JCPOA formula, which means creating trust about Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.

“Based on this (formula) we are ready for talks.”

To revitalize the nuclear deal Iran held a brainstorming session with the three European countries of Britain, France and Germany (E3) in December 2024, which are still party to the dormant nuclear agreement at the level of deputy foreign ministers for political affairs. Iran and the E3 plan to meet again on January 13.

On the policy of the new American administration toward the nuclear talks, the foreign minister said, “It is natural that the new administration should formulate its policies, and we decide based on that.”

Trump will officially take over as president on January 20.

Foreign Minister Araghchi went on to say that “China and Russia were two important influential parties in the negotiations and Iran believes that the two countries should still play their own constructive role in the talks and this is our will and request.”

He added since 2015 when the nuclear deal was signed the world has undergone many changes.

There is crisis in the West Asia region “but the road to diplomatic solution is never closed,” the chief diplomat opined.

“The U.S. pullout from the JCPOA was a grave strategic mistake that faced Iran reaction. Of course, the U.S. sanctions also increased.

 Araghchi added, “As a diplomat I believe it is possible to reach ‘diplomatic solutions’ in the most difficult situations, but it depends how much there is political will and how much diplomats show creativity and devise initiatives to find new ways and agree on new formulas. Finding a solution is difficult, but is not impossible if the other side has the diplomatic will.”