Germany says it sees no reason to resume Iran nuclear talks

BERLIN

Germany said on Wednesday that it sees no reason to revive the stalled talks on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“From our point of view, there are currently no indications or reasons for a resumption of the Iran nuclear negotiations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told media representatives in Berlin.

Germany has repeatedly made it clear that "these negotiations are not taking place at the moment,” he added.

Burger stressed that Berlin’s main concentration was on supporting the Iranian protest movement rather than jump-starting the Iran nuclear talks.

“Our focus is not on the negotiations at the moment, but to be on the side of the people who are on the streets in Iran standing up to be able to live in freedom and dignity and to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop the oppression of the population through (new) likely round of sanctions,” he added.

Last week, Germany called on Iran to show a “political will” aimed at resolving the standoff over a nuclear probe following the arrival of UN nuclear watchdog delegation in Tehran as part of its inquiry into undeclared uranium particles found in Iran.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has for years been calling on Iran to explain the presence of undeclared human-made uranium found at three sites, requesting “access to locations and material” as well as the collection of samples.

In the absence of progress, the IAEA said it could not guarantee the authenticity and integrity of Iran’s nuclear program.

Tehran has repeatedly claimed traces of enriched uranium found in Iran were brought into the country from abroad.

The US and its western allies argue the nuclear talks were stalled because Tehran was “making demands that have nothing to do with the JCPOA,” referring to the 2015 deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was scrapped in 2018 by then-US President Donald Trump.