US failed to take initiative in Doha nuke talks: Iran

Tehran, July 4 (IANS) The US has failed to be constructive in the latest round of the talks in Doha aimed at reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the Foreign Ministry here said in a statement on Monday.

According to the statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks during a phone conversation with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, reports Xinhua news agency.

Though describing the talks on June 29-30 in Doha as positive, Amir-Abdollahian said that "we should wait and see how the American side would seek to use the opportunity of diplomacy".

"We maintain that reiterating previous positions should not replace a political initiative," he said.

Amir-Abdollahian added that Iran is serious about reaching a "good and lasting" agreement and has always presented its proposals and ideas in the negotiations.

The two-day indirect talks between Iran and the US in the Qatari capital failed to result in any agreement to settle remaining differences amid international efforts to restore the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran signed the JCPOA with the world's major countries in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear programme in return for removing sanctions on the country.

However, former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

Talks to revive the deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.