TEHRAN- Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, has said that if the other parties act realistically and refrain from making the same mistakes that they did in the past, the talks on the renewal of the 2015 nuclear deal could resume.

Addressing an academic meeting on Monday, Bagheri Kani stressed that the government of President Ebrahim Raisi is serious about negotiations to lift sanctions.

“The administration has never blocked the road to diplomacy, negotiations, and efforts to fulfill the national interests to achieve a balanced agreement,” underlined Bagheri Kani, who acts as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no obstacle to the resumption of (JCPOA) negotiations and the finalization of an agreement in case the other parties be realistic and avoid repeating the past mistakes,” the deputy minister added.

Iran and the five remaining signatories to the JCPOA — Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia— and the United States held multiple rounds of talks to revitalize the agreement. The talks started in April 2021 and lasted until September 2022. However, the Biden administration withdrew from the talks as protests started in Iran in September last year following the death of Mahsa Amini. 

Tehran did not talk directly with the United States. The European Union acted as an intermediary between Iranian and American negotiators. Iran insisted it will not hold face-to-face talks with the Americans until they return to the JCPOA.

On May 1, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reaffirmed Tehran’s readiness to conclude the discussions on restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement. 

He also cautioned the Europeans that this window would not remain open forever.

Also, at a meeting with Luigi Di Maio, the EU Special Representative for the Persian Gulf region, and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Sunday, Bagheri Kani reiterated the Islamic Republic’s commitment to bilateral engagement with the European Union and said Tehran welcomes any measures put up by the EU to open up new avenues for contact and collaboration.

Bagheri Kani added Iran’s potential provides “irreplaceable opportunities for regional and global players to hold dialogue, interaction, and cooperation.”

He further emphasized that Iran has demonstrated in practice that it has the necessary will to maintain cooperation.

As a result, he pointed out, Tehran supports every effort by Europe to increase collaboration and contact.