TEHRAN – Iranian Ambassador to Vienna Abbas Bagherpoor Ardakani has said that the resuscitation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal depends on the U.S. showing the necessary will and the Europeans playing a proactive role. 

In an interview with the Austrian APA news agency, Ardakani said, “The revival of this agreement depends primarily on the will and political decision of the United States and the correction of its wrong and failed strategy, and secondly on the positive and constructive role of Europe instead of following the inhumane sanctions of the United States.”

Responding to a question on why Iran didn’t join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Ardakani added, “According to the official position, Iran described the ratification of this treaty as a right step in the right direction and complementary to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). At the same time, it emphasizes that the International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) should be completed with the immediate start of negotiations and the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons.”

The Iranian ambassador also answered questions on the Iran-Saudi deal, Israel, and the Ukraine war, according to IRNA. 

“Iran is opposed to war and violence and supports the territorial integrity of countries. For this reason, we are against arming Russia and arming Ukraine,” he said in response to a question on Iran’s position on the Ukraine war. 

Ardakani added, “We have not given drones to Russia to be used in the war in Ukraine, at the same time we are ready to hold the second technical meeting between Iranian and Ukrainian experts to receive their alleged documents.”

He also answered a question on why Iran abstained from voting for a UN resolution condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine, saying, “Our position has been based on the principled policy of opposing the war, as well as the unbalanced text of the resolutions and not addressing the roots of the war, including the threatening policies of NATO's expansion to the east.”

The ambassador also ruled out the possibility of reaching an agreement with Israel a la the one reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia. 

“Since its illegitimate creation, the identity of the fake Israeli regime has been associated with crime, apartheid, and a sinister history of developing, producing, and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arsenals,” he said. “The silence of the Western governments and their support for the crimes of this regime is a shame.”

Iran and Saudi Arabia have recently agreed to resume diplomatic relations in the deal brokered by China. The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia have met in Beijing to follow up on the deal. The two countries are now exchanging delegations to pave the way for reopening embassies.

In recent weeks, several Iranian diplomats were dispatched to Saudi Arabia to review the procedures for reopening Iran’s diplomatic missions in the Arab country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that Iran will soon appoint an ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

In remarks on Wednesday, said the arrangements for naming an ambassador to Saudi Arabia are underway and will be announced soon. 

“The reopening of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the appointment of the Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia will be done and announced soon,” Amir Abdollahian said, according to IRNA. 

He added, “The return of normal relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia is a great potential that is at the disposal of the two countries, the region and the Islamic world.”

The Iranian foreign minister has also said that Saudi Arabia has named its ambassador to Iran.