TEHRAN: A senior Iranian security official has stated that Tehran will not engage in any discussions that go beyond the terms of a 2015 nuclear agreement with the "oath-breaker" United States and "idle" Europe.
According to sources, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani tweeted that the US and Europe have "failed the test" of meeting their nuclear accord promises, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He stated that the JCPOA has now become a "empty shell" for Iran, as it has failed to provide any economic benefits or lift sanctions.
"No negotiations beyond the JCPOA will be held with the oath-breaker United States and indolent Europe," he wrote in a tweet. In July 2015, Iran and world powers signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Former US President Donald Trump, however, withdrew the US from the agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to abandon some of its nuclear pledges and resume its suspended nuclear programmes a year later.
Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have taken place in Vienna, Austria's capital, between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and Germany, with the United States indirectly engaged in the talks.
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