Iran's foreign minister says economy won’t be tied to nuclear talks
Iran’s new foreign minister said the country is serious about the nuclear talks but wants seriousness from the other side as well.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has been making headlines recently with comments on when the nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna will resume. Rather than giving exact dates, he appears to be enjoying the spotlight and attention afforded his position given the international focus on the paused negotiations.
During a television interview Oct. 3, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran “is serious about the negotiations, and we will return to the negotiations soon.” He did not specify when “soon” is, but he said Iran is currently finalizing its negotiation team.
One of the new members of the team is Ali Bagheri, a former protege of hard-liner and nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. It was hoped by some that former deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would remain on the team in some capacity, but both the appointment of Bagheri as deputy foreign minister and Amir-Abdollahian’s comments during the interview that he would be part of the talks seem to have dashed those hopes.
Amir-Abdollahian did say the nuclear negotiations would still be supervised and conducted through the Foreign Ministry. There were reports the nuclear file would possibly be sent back to the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). The administration of former President Hassan Rouhani removed the nuclear file from the SNSC in order to allow former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to have more leverage and freedom to conduct the talks. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, is also likely closely monitoring the talks.
