The talks began last December in New York and have since continued in Oman.
According to U.S. officials, the U.S. goal is to reach a "political truce."
In return, Tehran is demanding the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian assets abroad.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday it is possible to reach an agreement with the West over Tehran's nuclear activities if the country's nuclear infrastructure remains intact, at a time of disagreement between Iran and the United States over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
Khamenei's cautious approval comes days after both Tehran and Washington denied a report that they were close to an interim agreement under which Iran would curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
"There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear activities should not be touched," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media.
The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity and made it difficult for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons, in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement and re-imposed sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy, prompting Tehran to move gradually to not abide by the provisions of the agreement stipulated. This renewed US, European and Israeli fears that Iran might seek to obtain an atomic bomb.
Khamenei said, repeating his country's official position, that the Islamic Republic has never sought to build a nuclear bomb.
And he added, “Talking about Tehran’s nuclear weapons is a lie, and they (the West) know that. We don't want to build nuclear weapons because of our religious faith, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to stop it."
Khamenei, who has the supreme say in all state affairs including the nuclear program, added that Iran's Atomic Energy Organization should continue to work with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency "within a framework of guarantees".
However, Khamenei called on the Iranian authorities "not to bow to the exaggerated and wrong demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency," adding that a law passed by the Iranian parliament in 2020 must be respected.
Under the law, Tehran suspends IAEA inspections of Iranian nuclear sites and ramps up uranium enrichment if sanctions are not lifted.
At the end of May, the UN body reported “progress” in cooperation with Iran, while noting that the Islamic Republic had significantly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium in recent months.
In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency decided to close the file on the presence of nuclear materials in one of the three undeclared sites, after this led to strained relations between the two parties for a long time.
On Sunday, Khamenei urged those responsible for the nuclear program to "not succumb to pressure... baseless allegations," without providing further details.
He said, "There is no problem in signing an agreement with the agency, but the infrastructure of the Iranian nuclear industry should not be harmed."
These statements come at a time when press reports reported indirect contacts between Iran and the United States to resume negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement that was concluded in 2015, and the United States withdrew from it during the era of former President Donald Trump in 2018.
This agreement was aimed at restricting Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
And Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated that President Joe Biden's administration will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies seeking.
In the context, Khamenei said, “We do not want to reach nuclear weapons on the basis of our Islamic principles. Otherwise, they would not have been able to prevent us from obtaining this weapon, just as they have not been able to stop our nuclear developments so far.
"This is a good law... it must be respected and not violated when giving access to (the International Atomic Energy Agency) sites and information," Khamenei said.
Last month, the IAEA reported limited progress on issues at issue with Iran, including the reinstallation of some monitoring equipment originally installed under the 2015 deal and ordered removed by Tehran last year.
Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi says any military attack on nuclear facilities is outlawed, responding to US and Israeli threats to target those in Iran.
Grossi made the remarks in Tehran Saturday, in a joint news conference with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami who urged the IAEA to help build trust.
The Biden administration has drawn closer to Israel in recent weeks, conducting large-scale joint military exercises with the regime.
“There are two separate issues in this regard. First, attacks on nuclear power plants have unfortunately become common, and this is due to the war in Ukraine. Second, these attacks have been condemned during the Agency’s public conferences. So I think that the attack on nuclear facilities is totally condemned and illegal,” Grossi said.
He is visiting Tehran after Western reports claimed that IAEA inspectors had found 84% enriched uranium in Iran – an allegation Tehran has rejected.
Eslami told reporters that the Islamic Republic is enriching uranium up to 60% fissile purity.
Grossi said he had “constructive discussions” with Iranian officials that could pave the way for the revival of a landmark 2015 agreement to bring the US back to compliance and remove sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Eslami called for the remaining signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), namely France, Britain, Germany along with China and Russia, to fulfill their obligations.
“Three European and some other countries are just focusing on Iran’s JCPOA obligations,” he said. “They too have obligations that they need to adhere to.”
Eslami said, “We came to an arrangement (with Grossi) to define our cooperation within the framework of the safeguards.”
He called on the UN nuclear agency to avoid being swayed by those who aim to hinder cooperation between the two sides.
Today, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the statements of the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in which he asserted that carrying out an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was "illegal." Netanyahu said that Grossi was a worthy person, but he made inappropriate statements.
Grossi said during his visit to Tehran on Saturday - in response to a journalist's question about the threats of Tel Aviv and Washington to attack Iranian nuclear facilities if they consider that diplomatic means to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb have reached a dead end - that "any military attack on nuclear facilities is prohibited." ".
Netanyahu said - at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting - that "Israel will continue to defend itself in the face of those who call for its annihilation and prepare for the slaughter of its citizens."
He added that his country "continues to work to confront Iran, through discussions and actions it is conducting around the clock."
The International Atomic Energy Agency issued yesterday from Vienna a joint statement with the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency at the end of Grossi's visit to Tehran.
The statement stated that Iran is ready to continue cooperation with the agency regarding 3 sites that the agency said were undeclared and where traces of uranium were found.
Iran has also indicated its willingness to provide more information and access to it in order to address the remaining safeguards issues.
The joint statement added that Iran will allow the IAEA, when needed, to carry out more verification and supervision activities in nuclear facilities, provided that the method for this is agreed upon during a technical meeting to be held in Tehran soon.
Grossi's visit came as negotiations aimed at reviving the agreement on the Iranian nuclear file concluded in 2015 - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - reached a dead end.
It also coincides with the start of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's tour of the Middle East today, Sunday, including Egypt, Jordan and Israel, during which he will hold talks on the Iranian nuclear program.
The US president made the comments to some woman who claims is Iranian at a campaign rally with fellow Democrat congressman Mike Levin in Oceanside, California on November 4, at a time when protests were going on in Iran with support from Washington.
"President Biden, can you please announce that JCPOA is dead? Can you just announce that?" asks one woman. Biden replied "no", prompting the woman to ask "why not?"
"A lot of reasons. It is dead, but we're not gonna announce it," Biden told her. "Long story, but we're gonna make sure..."
The US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, said on Wednesday that "Iran is perhaps weeks away from enriching the fissile material needed to develop a nuclear weapon."
Malley claimed, during a webinar hosted by the "Foreign Policy" daily related to Iran, that "with regard to the nuclear agreement, the closer the parties are to agreeing on a formula to revive the agreement, Iran puts forward new demands at the last minute."
He added, "The suspension of sanctions comes within the framework of the agreement, and the latter is not up for discussion now, so the sanctions will continue in the same context."
This comes as Iran affirms that it is serious about reaching a nuclear agreement, and that it will not hesitate to reach a "good, strong and sustainable" agreement, but it is calling for guarantees that the United States will not withdraw from the agreement again, and it is also calling for the closure of the International Atomic Energy Agency's allegations.
It is noteworthy that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said, "The Americans are sending us through some foreign ministers that they are in a hurry to revive the nuclear agreement, while the US envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, says, "The nuclear agreement is not among Washington's priorities."
Since the beginning of reviving the nuclear agreement, Tehran has been stressing on 4 basic issues: guarantees after the United States withdrew from the nuclear agreement, lifting sanctions on Iran, verifying the occurrence of these matters, in addition to closing the file of political allegations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The US envoy for Iran claimed during the symposium that, "As soon as US President Joe Biden took office, we immediately declared to our European allies our intention to revive the nuclear deal, provided Iran complies."
He added, "The diplomatic option is the most appropriate to stop Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons," noting that "we are working in close and coordinated steps with France and Britain to achieve this."
Malley quoted Biden as saying, "The time may come to activate the military option against Iran, but conditions are not yet ripe," noting that "our consultations with the leaders of both parties are continuing on Iran, and we are aware of the size of the opposition of some in Congress."
Earlier, Malley himself spoke about the possibility of the next US president leaving the nuclear agreement, noting that "there are no guarantees that this will not happen."
And at the end of last October, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said: "We believe that the American political will can help sign the agreement," stressing that his country will not wait for an agreement to secure its interests, nor will it link its relationship and foreign policy to the nuclear agreement.
During the symposium, the US Special Envoy for Iran pointed out that the US Treasury Department took into account all the circumstances accompanying the activation of sanctions with the lowest rate of consequences, i.e. diplomacy backed by sanctions.
It is noteworthy that the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, last month, that the madness of sanctions against Iran has turned into a "virus" that is transmitted to countries allied to Washington, stressing that imposing sanctions on the media and journalists is a violation of part of the main rights of the Iranian people to make their voice heard in the world.
According to Malley, "a new system of sanctions has been activated against Iranian officials for their dealings with the protests," announcing that "Washington is devoting its technical capabilities to the demonstrators in order to communicate via virtual space."
Malley announced "his strong support for the demonstrators in Iran," adding that "the demonstrations come at a sensitive historical period that is reshaping Iranian history," as he put it.
Malley added that "Washington's behavior in the 2009 demonstrations in Iran should have been better, and we must deal with wisdom," saying: "We intend with our other allies to hold Iranian officials accountable for what is going on."
The spokesman for the Iranian Shura Council's presidential body, Nizamuddin Mousavi, stated that "about 45,000 people and foreign intelligence agencies are causing riots." Iran also condemned the US interference in its affairs, represented by supporting the riots that took place in Iranian cities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian revealed that "Washington sent a new message to Iran, three days ago, regarding negotiations over Iran's nuclear program," noting that "Tehran's assessment of the message is that the US side puts the agreement at the top of its priorities."
Amir Abdollahian said in a press statement, after his meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia, today, Saturday: "Our assessment of the American message indicates that the agreement is not only one of their priorities, but that they are in a hurry to get it and sign it, but they are also trying to ignite the recent events in Iran." .
He added, "The Americans are contradictory in their words and behavior, and we assured them that the issue of the accusations leveled by the International Atomic Energy Agency must be resolved."
Amir Abdullahian stressed, "We will not negotiate with the American side to make concessions, we will move within a logical framework and an agreement that respects Iran's red lines, but at the same time, we will never leave the negotiating table."
He believed that "the American behavior is hypocritical. They tell Iran that we are concerned about the nuclear agreement, and they say in the media that negotiations are not their priority."
The Iranian foreign minister stressed that "we will not allow the United States to incite chaos in Iran by making some statements."
Two days ago, the Coordinator of Strategic Communications for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, announced that "Washington has moved away from returning to the agreement with Iran over its nuclear program," noting that it "is not currently focusing its attention on it."
"Honestly, the nuclear deal is not currently our top priority," Kirby said.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that "the deal does not appear imminent."
Regarding the allegations of Iran supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, Amir Abdollahian stressed that "Iran has not and will not give any weapons to the Russian side for use in the Ukraine war."
Tehran demanded that Ukraine "provide documents" related to the news of the use of Iranian drones by the Russian side in the current war.
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