WEB DESK
Iran on Monday said that the US had rejected an offer from Tehran for more robust nuclear inspections in exchange of lifting sanctions because Washington is not seeking dialogue.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal agreed to by Tehran, Iran must ratify a document, known as the additional protocol, prescribing more intrusive inspections of its nuclear programme eight years after the deal was adopted.
Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Media that if the US is really seeking an agreement Iran can make the additional protocol into law and the US at the same time bring a plan to the Congress and lift all illegal sanctions. According to Mousavi, the proposal was made by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a visit to New York this month to dismiss the idea that Iran is against talks with America.
Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads ever since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear deal last year and reimposed biting sanctions on Iran. Envoys from the four countries and Iran met in Vienna on Sunday to discuss ways to stop the deal collapsing amid escalating tensions.