Iran rejects US allegation over failing Doha talks

Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna, said that the Doha talks on discussing remaining disputes over JCPOA have not failed and the negotiations will continue.

Iran rejects US allegation over failing Doha talks

MEHR: Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna, said that the Doha talks on discussing remaining disputes over JCPOA have not failed and the negotiations will continue.

Saying that the negotiations were not expected to end in only 2 days, Marandi told Al Mayadeen, "We do not take US media statements as serious."

"The Americans must provide the guarantees that Iran wants to make sure that they do not stab us in the back like in the past," he stated, adding that the Europeans are more interested in Iran today because they need its oil due to the situation in Ukraine. 

"Sanctions must be lifted so that we can re-implement the nuclear deal. Negotiations in Doha did not fail and will continue," he added.

Marandi went on to say, "Communication did not stop after the suspension of the Vienna talks, but what we have seen in the last two days has been a focused negotiation."

Citing that the European pressure to persuade Americans to take serious steps will increase, Marandi continued, "Biden is under intense pressure from opponents of the agreement, but at the same time he is suffering from an energy and oil crisis, and we will see which side wins."

Talks on lifting the sanctions ended Wednesday evening in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

A US State Department spokesperson claimed later Wednesday that the talks concluded, asserting, "While we are very grateful to the EU for its efforts, we are disappointed that Iran has, yet again, failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore that no progress was made," CNN reported.

The American side went on to make allegations about Iran again on not being ready and raising issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA, while the Iranian side has repeatedly announced readiness to conclude the deal if the US is adherent to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The US government has repeatedly tried to accuse the other parties of slowing down and obstructing the talks, instead of proposing practical initiatives to advance the talks.