United Nations, Dec 25: Iran and the United States reaffirmed their commitments to diplomacy at a contentious meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, but the gap between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic on a nuclear deal remains wide and deep.The sixth round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran had been scheduled for soon after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, during which the US joined Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear sites. The talks were cancelled, and in September, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected any direct nuclear negotiations with the United States.
But Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the Security Council that “Iran remains fully committed to principled diplomacy and genuine negotiations.” And said it’s now up to France, Britain and the US “to reverse course and take concrete, credible steps to restore trust and confidence.”
He said Iran remains committed to the core principles of the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, in which Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
President Donald Trump in 2018 pulled the US out of the agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany.
In a rare public exchange between diplomats from the two countries, US Mission counsellor Morgan Ortagus, a Trump ally and former State Department spokesperson, said, “The United States remains available for formal talks with Iran but only if Tehran is prepared for direct and meaningful dialogue.”