Minister: Iran Will Return To Nuclear Talks 'Very Soon'

The Biden administration has seen the foreign minister's statements but hasn't received clarity "on what precisely that means."

Iran's new foreign minister said Friday the country will return to nuclear negotiations "very soon," but accused the Biden administration of sending contradictory messages — saying it wants to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal while slapping new sanctions on Tehran and not taking "an iota of positive action."

Hossain Amir Abdollah said the government, which took power last month, believes that President Joe Biden "keeps carrying close to his heart the thick file of the Trump sanctions against Iran, even while seemingly pursuing negotiations."

Former President Donald Trump routinely denounced the nuclear accord as the "worst deal ever negotiated" and withdrew from the agreement in 2018 after an ill-fated attempt to bring the other parties — Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and Iran — on board with additional restrictions. After withdrawing, Trump embarked on what he called a "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, re-imposing all the U.S. sanctions that had been eased under the deal and adding penalties.