Iran says communication channels with US ‘still exist’

TEHRAN: Iran’s top diplomat said Wednesday that communication channels with the United States were still open, a week after Donald Trump was elected president.

“The communication channels between us and the Americans still exist,” Abbas Araghchi said on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting.

“We have differences with the Americans, which are sometimes very fundamental and central and may not be resolved, but we must manage them to reduce their costs and decrease the tensions,” he added.

Araghchi said last month that there was no ground for indirect nuclear talks with the United States.

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“We don’t see any grounds for these talks, until we can get past the current crisis,” Araghchi said on October 14 during a visit to the Gulf sultanate of Oman as part of a regional tour.

Oman has long mediated between Iran and the United States, which cut ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution that saw Western-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi ousted.

The remarks by the Iranian top diplomat were echoed by the country’s president on Tuesday.

“Regarding America, whether we like it or not, we will eventually face this country in the regional and international arena, and it is better to manage this issue ourselves,” Masoud Pezeshkian said.

Iran, subject to biting international sanctions, reached a deal with the major powers including the United States in 2015 to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual lifting of sanctions.

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But the pact was torpedoed three years later under Trump whose administration withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions.

The developments come as the International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is set to visit Tehran later Wednesday to hold talks with Iranian officials on the country’s nuclear programme.

“There are problems and disagreements about how to cooperate,” with the agency, Araghchi said on Wednesday.

He expressed hope that during the Grossi’s trip, the two sides “can reach an agreement regarding some of the differences that exist and how to cooperate in the future.”