Iranian Foreign Minister and Iran's Chief Negotiator in Vienna Optimistic on Nuclear Talks

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: February 23, 2022; 07:12 ♦ (Vindobona)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Tehran is serious about reaching an agreement, but the West must be realistic. Earlier, Iran's chief negotiator at the nuclear talks in Vienna, Ali Bagheri Kani, also expressed optimism about the progress of negotiations.

Grossi (left) met with Dr. Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's Chief Negotiator in Vienna and Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran during his official visit at the Agency headquarters in Vienna. / Picture: © IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency / Dean Calma / Flickr Attribution (CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

The Iranian foreign minister told Christiane Amanpour he was "very optimistic" about reaching an agreement at the ongoing talks with world powers in Vienna to revive the 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Amir-Abdollahian also said Western powers and the United States were to blame if negotiations to salvage the stalled Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action were unsuccessful.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said his confidence stems from the fact that the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has an ambitious will to reach a good agreement with the other side as a result of the talks.