The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry lashed out at the US for holding the outstanding issues in the Vienna talks on the revival of the JCPOA hostage to its domestic affairs, cautioning that Iran would not wait forever.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said the US’ approach has brought the Vienna talks to a standstill.

“The US is trying to hold the remaining subjects (in the Vienna talks) hostage to its internal issues, but Iran and Iranians could not be patient forever,” the spokesman added.

He also reminded Washington that it ought to make its political decision immediately if it intends to reach a deal.

In a telephone conversation with his Omani counterpart on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reiterated Tehran’s readiness for a good and lasting agreement in the Vienna talks on the revival of the JCPOA, saying the US’ excessive demands have lengthened the negotiations.

The Vienna talks, meant to resurrect the JCPOA, were paused in March for an undetermined period of time despite reports suggesting that they were in the “final stages.”

The United States, which is blamed for the current stalemate, is reluctant to take confidence-building measures due to its erroneous bias, procrastination in decision-making and excessive demands.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the US needs to remove all illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic in a verifiable manner and offer guarantees that a new US administration will not breach the JCPOA again before it can rejoin the deal.

Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.

Source: Iranian media (edited by Al-Manar English Website)