US govt prepared to return to seventh round of talks with Iran

Advertisement

Global powers have been in talks with Tehran since early April to revive the 2015 deal..reports Asian Lite News

The United States will not impose a deadline on a seventh round of talks with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, but only Tehran can determine when talks will resume, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.

“Questions about when or whether Iran would be prepared to start a seventh round or reach an understanding on a mutual return to the JCPOA, those can only be addressed by Tehran,” Price said, referring to an acronym for the Iran nuclear deal.

“We’ve made very clear that we are prepared to return to a seventh round,” he said, adding: “We’re not imposing a deadline on these talks, but … we are conscious that as time proceeds Iran’s nuclear advances will have a bearing on our view of ultimately returning to the JCPOA,” Price said.

He also said that Washington continues to believe that “diplomacy is the most effective means at our disposal to achieve what we seek, and that is verifiably and permanently ensuring that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Global powers have been in talks with Tehran since early April to revive the 2015 deal. Washington withdrew from the pact three years ago, and Iran has responded by gradually breaching its restrictions.

Garry Kasparov speaks out against Iranian regime

World-renowned chess player Garry Kasparov has spoken out about the plight of everyday Iranians at the hands of the regime and urged the US to cease negotiations with Iran, calling them a “terrible mistake.”

Kasparov, who now works as chairman of the New York-based Human rights Foundation, told an Iranian opposition event: “For all the foreign interference, terror, and war caused by the illegitimate Iranian regime, it is vital to remember that no one suffers more than the citizens of that regime.”

The government, Kasparov continued, “has no authority from the people. Instead, it fears its people, it oppresses and tortures them.”

Kasparov is among the world’s most decorated chess players. He was world number one for a record breaking 255 months, and held the highest ever rating in chess for 14 years, until being dethroned in 2013 by Magnus Carlsen.

Since retiring from chess, he has devoted himself to campaigning on human rights issues and against autocracy — including against his own home country, Russia.

ALSO READ: Haiti’s interim govt requests US to deploy troops

[mc4wp_form id=""]

Advertisement