Washington on Sunday said it was “disappointed” that Iran had refused an informal meeting with the US and other countries involved in the 2015 nuclear agreement. Tehran ruled out a meeting to revisit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — or Iran nuclear accord — until sanctions are lifted. “The US must first return to the nuclear agreement and lift its illegal sanctions on Iran … there is no need for negotiations for that,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. US-Iran nuclear tensions have recently heightened, after Tehran appealed to Washington to lift sanctions, which have thrown Iran into the worst economic crisis in its history. In 2018, former president Donald Trump walked away from nuclear deal, which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Source: Egypt Independent February 28, 2021 21:45 UTC