Iraq ‘concerned’ over stalemate in Iran nuclear talks

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Iraqi government has voiced concern over a stalemate in talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear agreement.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met in Baghdad on Monday with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, and Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

Hussein said the Iraqi government is concerned about “the stagnation of the Iranian nuclear agreement", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The top diplomat pointed to "the need to revive this file, although the region is witnessing less tension than before, especially between Iran and Saudi Arabia", it added.

Hussein expressed "gratitude for the role played by the United Nations in Iraq," stressing his country's aspiration "for more international support to confront terrorism."

The indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the agreement, brokered by the EU, have been stalled since August over key disagreements, including the UN nuclear watchdog probe into “undeclared nuclear sites", which Iran has repeatedly dismissed as a "political move".

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67 percent. The threshold was gradually breached by Tehran after the US walked out of the deal in May 2018.

DiCarlo, for his part, affirmed "the commitment of the United Nations to assist Iraq in facing security challenges," and underlined the importance of “promoting the language of dialogue in the Gulf region and the Middle East."

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat