Tehran, Iran, Sept. 15
Trend:
Iran could hold talks with Washington only if US President Donald Trump returned to the international agreement, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in the interview published on September 15.
The Iranian minister, however, rejected direct talks with the US president.
Elsewhere in the interview, Zarif said if the European Union continues to act passively with respect to the deal, his country could increase uranium enrichment.
"The Europeans and the other signatories must act in order to compensate for the impacts of the US sanctions," he said.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Later on August 6, Trump signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.
Trump also restated his opinion that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a “horrible, one-sided deal”.
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.