Tehran confident of peaceful nature of its nuclear program

“In the nuclear issue, we never left the negotiation table because we have been confident in the peaceful nature of our nuclear program,” he said during a televised interview on Tuesday.

“We have no problem with negotiations whether in principle or basis, although, some of the other parties’ excessive demands have caused some problems and adversities in negotiations,” the top diplomat noted.

Araghchi also emphasized that the Islamic Republic’s “main demand” is finding a way towards resumption of nuclear negotiations.

He also described as “positive” the country’s recent talks with the European trio of the UK, France, and Germany, which are parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.

The talks were attended by senior Iranian diplomats, Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi, as well as the representatives of the European states, European Union’s foreign policy chief Enrique Mora, and other European experts.

Araghchi also referred to the US’s 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal (JCPOA), asserting that Tehran has not engaged in any nuclear negotiations with the incoming US administration as it was Americans who pulled out.

He said, “After the US withdrawal, the Europeans negotiated with Washington, and our policy is still the same. We will not negotiate with the US over the nuclear issue until it returns to the JCPOA and announces its relevant policy.”