Saudi Arabia Says Regional Countries Should Join Iran Nuclear Talks

 

Iran wants the deal it negotiated in 2015 and has rejected including new countries

Dave DeCamp 

Posted onFebruary 9, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsIran, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s government released a statement on Tuesday calling for regional countries to be involved in any negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The statement came after a Saudi cabinet meeting headed by King Salman.

The statement said the Saudi cabinet “stresses the importance that the countries most affected by Iranian threats must be a party to any international negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program and behaviors that threaten the security of the region.”

Iran has already rejected calls from France for nuclear talks that include regional countries since Tehran is seeking a revival of the JCPOA as it was negotiated in 2015. The JCPOA was signed by Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1.

As it stands, the US and Iran are far apart on reviving the JCPOA. President Biden has said he will not lift sanctions on Iran until the Islamic Republic scales back its nuclear activity to the limits agreed to in 2015. Since the US is the party that violated the deal, Tehran wants Biden to act first.

The Saudi statement also said the international community should stand up to what it calls Iranian “aggression” in the region. The cabinet mentioned the war in Yemen and the Houthis but made no mention of President Biden’s plan to end US support for “offensive” operations in Yemen.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/02/09/saudi-arabia-says-regional-countries-should-join-iran-nuclear-talks/