Iran seeks 'creative ways' to nuke deal after Russian demand
CTV
A top Iranian official said Monday that his country is seeking 'creative ways' to restore its nuclear deal with world powers after Russia's foreign minister linked sanctions on Moscow over its war on Ukraine to the ongoing negotiations.
The tweet by Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's powerful Supreme National Security Council, offers the first high-level acknowledgment of the demands of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"Vienna participants act & react based on interests and it's understandable," Shamkhani wrote. "Our interactions ... are also solely driven by our people's interests. Thus, we're assessing new elements that bear on the negotiations and will accordingly seek creative ways to expedite a solution."
Shamkhani later tweeted criticism of the United States; earlier, he avoided directly mentioning Russia.
In recent days, negotiators on all sides in Vienna had signaled that a potential deal was close as the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agreed to a timetable with Iran for it to answer the watchdog's long-standing questions about Tehran's program.
