TEHRAN – A senior Russian diplomat to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that the West has politicized multilateral discussions in Vienna.

The diplomat, Mikhail Ulyanov, said the Western politicization of discussions in Vienna was to the maximum possible extent. “Western countries politicised multilateral discussions in #Vienna to the maximum possible extent,” he said on Twitter. 

Ulyanov added, “But now they apparently started to understand that such policy doesn’t correspond to their own interests. Our position will depend on their own policy. If necessary, we will respond.”

The Russian ambassador didn’t specify the discussions that were politicized by Western countries. But Vienna has been the venue for talks over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA talks resumed in Vienna in April 2021 and nearly eight rounds of talks were held but no deal was reached. Ulyanov actively participated in the talks. 

The JCPOA talks appear to have come to an end but U.S. and Iran are reportedly exploring some kind of understanding to de-escalate tensions until further notice. 

Of course, Iran has said that it is ready to revive the JCPOA. Tehran has never left the negotiating table and has demonstrated sincerity about reaching a deal to revive the nuclear accord, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday. 

Kanaani, speaking at a news conference on Monday, said Iran has never abandoned diplomatic attempts to lift the harsh sanctions imposed on the Iranian nation after the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear agreement.

“Iran’s government has never left the negotiation table and has shown its readiness to conduct serious and substantive negotiations in order to reach a conclusion,” he noted.

Recently, Western media outlets reported that Iran and the U.S. have started indirect talks in Oman. 

The U.S. and Iranian officials held indirect talks in Oman last month with Omani officials shuttling between their separate rooms to deliver messages, Axios said in its report published on Friday.

Kanaani acknowledged that messages were exchanged between Iran and the U.S. with Oman’s assistance and mediation.

In order to start the negotiations to lift the sanctions, he added, “We welcomed the mediation proposal put forth by senior Omani officials a few weeks ago and exchanged messages with the other side.”

“The exchange of messages continues and the diplomatic apparatus uses all capacities within the framework of Iran’s principled policies to secure national interests. We used Oman’s capacity and assistance as a friendly country,” Kanaani added.