Nuclear issue off agenda, talks with US focus on ending war, Iranian MP says

An Iranian lawmaker has said that ongoing talks with the United States are focused on ending the war and preventing renewed aggression, adding that Iran’s nuclear programme is no longer part of the negotiations.

Esmail Kowsari, a member of Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, told Russia Today that the nuclear issue had been removed from the agenda of discussions with Washington, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

According to Kowsari, the talks are currently focused on preventing another war, securing compensation, ensuring the withdrawal of US forces from the region, and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and vessels.

He expressed scepticism about the prospects for a final agreement, saying that negotiations between Tehran and Washington are continuing but have yet to produce tangible results.

“We are moving step by step. We will not allow the experience of the nuclear deal to be repeated,” he said, in an apparent reference to the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which collapsed after the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018.

“We must make sure the other side fulfils its commitments before moving to the next stage, because we do not trust the United States,” the lawmaker added.

Kowsari also said that repeated statements by US President Donald Trump were “nothing more than lies” aimed at advancing his own interests and influencing global energy prices.

He cited what he described as US-Israeli dictates as one of the main reasons for the failure to reach an agreement with Iran.

The lawmaker further reiterated that Iran would maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, adding that many countries had accepted Tehran’s authority over the strategic waterway.

News.Az