TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has reiterated once again that Iran seeks a good and strong deal in the indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States.

Addressing a gathering of Iran's cultural attachés on Thursday, the foreign minister pointed out that the diplomatic apparatus will continue the negotiations, but Iran wants to reach a good, strong and robust agreement, according to Al Alam.

Amir Abdollahian added, “Politics, economy, security and culture are interconnected links that are capable of achieving the goals of the establishment abroad.”

The foreign minister considered the cultural transformation, the need for more and more coordination between the institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran abroad in cultural affairs and compliance with the regulations of the mission countries as three important principles for advancing cultural goals abroad.

Referring to the high capabilities of the Iranian community abroad and the need to pay attention to them, Amir Abdollahian considered facilitating consular, cultural and social affairs as much as possible, and expanding the Persian language as one of the peculiarities of the joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations. 

The foreign minister described Ayatollah Raisi's assertion and the current government's focus on drafting a comprehensive law for Iranians living abroad as among the most important measures in this regard

Amir Abdollahian pointed out that the foreign ministry's special interest in economic diplomacy in the past ten months is another very important issue on the agenda of the foreign policy apparatus.

The minister of foreign affairs called for paying more attention to the status of the Persian language, which has a special contribution to the formation of the identity of Iranians abroad by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations.

In his meeting with the cultural attaches, the head of the Iranian diplomatic corps reviewed the latest developments related to the nuclear talks to lift sanctions, saying, “We in the diplomatic corps will continue the negotiations, but we want to reach a good, strong and firm agreement.”

The foreign minister spoke over the phone with Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, on Wednesday evening. They exchanged views over the latest state of sanctions removal talks.

In the conversation, Amir Abdollahian thanked Borrell and his deputy Enrique Mora for their efforts and said there is “no doubt that Iran is determined to reach a good, robust and lasting deal.”

He said if the U.S. moves realistically toward finding a solution and reaching a deal, a good agreement will be at hand for all parties.

Amir Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown good faith and serious determination to reach a deal since the start of the talks.

He further referred to a draft proposed recently by Borrell, underscoring that Iran welcomes the continuation of diplomacy and talks.

The Iranian foreign minister said the U.S. has always claimed that is wants a deal, so this must exist in the wording of the agreement and also in practice.

For his part, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy said the Iranian side has so far shown positive and serious determination during the negotiations and now is the time that the talks produce good results.

Borrell once again declared that he and his deputy are ready to facilitate and speed up this trend through communications and consultations with all parties.

In the telephone conversation, Amir Abdollahian and Borrell exchanged views about how to move forward.

The chief EU diplomat has recently urged Iran to accept the draft deal reached during eight rounds of indirect talks in an opinion piece for the Financial Times. “It is now time for swift political decisions to conclude the Vienna negotiations on the basis of my proposed text and to immediately return to a fully implemented JCPOA. The deal serves the cause of non-proliferation in return for sanctions lifting, showing that in turbulent times balanced international agreements are still possible,” he said. 

The chief Iranian negotiator has responded by saying that Iran has some ideas about the talks and will present them. Earlier, Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi told his French counterpart in a telephone conversation that the ball is in the U.S.’s court to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.