TEHRAN – A top Iranian security official has underlined that Iran’s achievements with respect to nuclear research and development (R&D) can’t be limited by any deal.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said on Twitter that Iran’s right to move ahead with its nuclear R&D activities should be protected in case a deal was reached in the Vienna talks aimed to revive a 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“Iran's legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement,” the top security official tweeted on Saturday. 

The tweet was published in four languages- Persian, English, Arabic, and Russian.

Shamkhani said in late January that the way of interaction with the Americans will change only if “a good agreement” is possible.

“So far contacts with the American team present in Vienna have been through unofficial letter and there has been no and there will be no need for something more than this. This way of contact will be replaced with other ways only when a good agreement is within reach,” Shamkhani tweeted.  

Shamkhani’s latest tweet came amid preparations for a resumption of the Vienna talks which have been on pause for a week. 

The heads of delegations of Iran and the P4+1 countries are planning to return to Vienna soon. Before returning to the Austrian capital, Iran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani briefed the members of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on the latest developments in the Vienna talks.

After the briefing, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the spokesman for the Committee, said time is ripe for reaching a “good and win-win deal” on the condition that the West shows seriousness and goodwill.

In his recent phone call with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian emphasized that the Islamic Republic welcomes and emphasizes the achievement of a good agreement in the talks.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has said that reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal requires seriousness and good faith on part of Europe.

Mahmood Abbas Zadeh said the Europeans must resolve the crisis created by the U.S in JCPOA.

In an exclusive interview with Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA), Abbas Zadeh said that the French president’s phone call with the Iranian president carried a diplomatic message and showed Iran’s upper hand in the Vienna talks.

“Although France had played the role of a bad cop in the recent negotiations, it confessed to Iran’s right to distrust of the United States,” the member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament said.