Iran says previous nuclear deal cannot be revived and parties must reach new agreement

Tehran is still considering response to letter from US President Donald Trump

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says reviving the 2015 nuclear deal is impossible and talks require US policy change. EPA

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said he believed it was no longer possible to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and that attempting to do so would not serve Iran's interests. Talks with the US were impossible unless Washington changed its pressure policy, he added.

Mr Araghchi, who was among Iran's negotiators who agreed on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), widely known as the nuclear deal, said the agreement could not be revived in the same format because of advancements in Tehran's nuclear development and increased US sanctions.

“The JCPOA, in its current form, cannot be revived in my opinion,” he said, according to Iranian state media. “[Reviving it] is not in our interest either, because our nuclear status has by far advanced and we can no more return to the JCPOA conditions. So have the sanctions by the other party. They have set many new sanctions and the conditions have changed.”

He added that the US, under President Donald Trump, chose to withdraw from the deal in 2018 and efforts to resurrect the JCPOA would not be a realistic thing”. However, he suggested the deal could serve as a base for a potential agreement in the future, but added that talks could only take place under the right conditions.

“In circumstances where there is ‘maximum pressure,’ no one in their sound mind would enter into direct talks,” Mr Araghchi said, referring to Mr Trump's policy aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear capabilities by increasing sanctions. "You can no more enter into talks with America, unless some things change."

Mr Trump said earlier this month that he had sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that "there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal". Mr Khamenei rejected the US offer for talks as a "deception", saying negotiations would "tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran".

Mr Araghchi on Thursday said Tehran would soon reply to the letter's "threats and opportunities".

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said last month that time is running out for a deal to rein in Iran's nuclear programme, as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels. Iran has repeatedly stated its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Mr Trump's envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Sunday said the US wanted to negotiate with Iran. "We don't need to solve everything militarily," he told Fox News.

"Our signal to Iran is let's sit down and see if we can, through dialogue, through diplomacy, get to the right place. If we can, we are prepared to do that. And if we can't, the alternative is not a great alternative."

Speaking separately on CBS News, the White House's National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, said the US sought the "full dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear programme. "Iran has to give up its programme in a way that the entire world can see," he said.

"As President Trump has said, this is coming to a head. All options are on the table and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon."