TEHRAN, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian security official reaffirmed on Tuesday that Iran did not and will not back down from any of its red lines during the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal, semi-official agency Nour News reported.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani made the remarks in his meeting with members of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, according to Nour News affiliated with SNSC.
Whether an agreement is reached or not, the Iranian nation's interests are safeguarded, Shamkhani noted.
Commenting on the government's policy of not tying Iran's economy to the nuclear talks, he said the law passed by the parliament in December 2020 provided the government with good capacities to confront U.S. sanctions and safeguard Iran's interests.
The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in Austria's capital Vienna in early August after a five-month hiatus. On Aug. 8, the European Union put forward a "final text" of the draft decision on reviving the nuclear deal, awaiting political decisions from participants in the Vienna talks.
Earlier in the day, Iran announced that it has presented its written response about the EU's draft of a potential agreement, noting that if the U.S. reaction features realism and flexibility, the nuclear agreement will be achieved.
Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.
The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington. ■
