TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has credited the Islamic Republic with keeping the 2015 nuclear deal alive despite continued U.S. violation of its commitments.

Saeed Khatibzadeh said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is still alive and is now being discussed in the Vienna nuclear talks.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Khatibzadeh said, “If the JCPOA is alive today, it is because of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if today there exist such thing as the JCPOA, the implementation of which is being discussed, it is because of the decision that Iran made after the unilateral and illegal withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and the inactions of the European parties.”

He added, “Iran and the Iranian people have played their part in protecting the JCPOA and made the tough decision they had to make that year. Today is the time when the other side should know that it is present in the negotiations in the position of the culprit, and it is the side that has made every effort to destroy the JCPOA.”

Everyone knows that if there is a reason for distrust of the United States, it is the hypocritical and bullying behavior of the United States. What is being discussed in Vienna is how to implement the JCPOA. We are not talking about its origin or its future. We are only talking about the implementation of the JCPOA and the return of the United States to the JCPOA.”

He noted, “The JCPOA is still going on between Iran and the P4+1, and Iran's compensatory measures are defined as per the JCPOA to restore the chances of reviving the JCPOA and restore the balance that was upset by the withdrawal of the United States and the inaction of the United States.”

He stated, “We think that all parties know both the logic and the solution. Let me not rush about the result, but I assure you that nothing will matter to us except the interests of the great people of Iran. If the United States returns to the full, effective and accurate implementation of the JCPOA, the Iranian people will stand by their signature, as they once showed, with full implementation of the JCPOA, that they fully comply with what they sign despite all differences over the nuclear issue inside Iran.”

Responding to a question on whether a representative of the incoming Iranian government will join the talks if they continue, the spokesman said, “It basically does not matter in which time period and in which government the agreement is reached. If this agreement is concluded now and decisions are made by all parties, we will not delay even one hour of work. It is important to ensure the best interests of Iran and the Iranian people through these talks, and we will announce it whenever this happens.”

He added, “The decision on this issue is not up to this government and that government. The mechanism is set at the highest levels and pursued at the highest levels, and governments are part of the decision-making process.”

Diplomats from Iran and the U.S. as well as Europe are preparing for a potentially decisive round of talks this week in Vienna that is expected to result in a consensus to revive the JCPOA. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, who leads the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna, said on Sunday that the Vienna talks have almost reached their end and that the time has come for the negotiating parties to make decisions.

Speaking after a briefing session with lawmakers, Araqchi said, “So far, six rounds of talks have been held with the P4+1, and we are almost close to the final stages. There is a series of issues that have been sufficiently negotiated and it is time for the countries to decide.”