Iran rejects dialogue on negotiation for 'new parties' in nuclear deal

Iran's foreign ministry on January 29 rejected offers of any new negotiation with the world powers with respect to the nuclear deal. "The nuclear accord is a multilateral international agreement ratified by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which is non-negotiable and parties to it are clear and unchangeable," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a state televised conference. Iran’s reluctance to hold talks about adding new participants to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was followed by French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks that any new talks with Iran must involve Saudi Arabia. 

Speaking in a live-streamed address with the Iranian reporters, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh stated that the treaty was ‘non-negotiable’, stressing that the members partisan to the agreement were ‘unchangeable’. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal over Iran’s violation of terms on uranium enrichment stockpiling. Trump slapped economic sanctions and trade embargo on Iran. 

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Prospects of 'new dialogue' 

Biden administration, during campaign rallies, expressed willingness to re-enter the treaty if the Islamic republic resumed the ‘full compliance’ with JCPOA’s terms. In wake of prospects of a new dialogue with Iran about the nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) allies stated that the Kingdom and Arab states shall be included in the talks, so as to address Iran's ballistic missile programs and its militia and proxies installed in Middle East region. UAE, during the Trump administration, supported the US ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran. 

Al Arabiya television, Saturday, cited French President Macron’s statement as he said, that the new talks on the nuclear deal with Iran shall not only be stringent, but many nations including Saudi Arabia must join in the dialogue. Responding to Macron’s remarks, Iran’s Foreign Ministry in an official statement asserted that the French leader must ‘show self-restraint’, adding that France was vouching for its vested interest in arms sale in Persian Gulf Arab states. 

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