US wants Raisi to resume nuclear talks

The US has called Iran’s new president to return to the nuclear talks. The window for diplomacy will not remain open forever as the US is warning about it. The tensions between the US and Iran have heightened since 2018. This was stated as former president Donald Trump pulled out the nuclear deals and restored sanctions.

Ebrahim Raisi started his journey as the president. He said that he would support any of the diplomatic plans to end the sanctions on Iran. He also said illegal US Sanctions against Iran must be lifted. The Western countries are accusing Iran of building nuclear weapons. The 2015 deal between Iran and six other countries has seen some nuclear work to end the sanctions. The sanctions are hurting their economy. But Iran has re-started its banned nuclear work as Trump pulled out of the previous deal.

Thorny negotiations are taking place in Vienna between Iran and other countries which are part of the agreement. However, the nuclear talks are on hold for several weeks.

Mr. Raisi ‘s spokesperson Ned price said that “We urge Iran to return to the negotiations soon so that we can seek to conclude our work.”

“Our message to President Raisi is the same as our message to his predecessors… the US will defend and advance our national security interests and those of our partners. We hope that Iran seizes the opportunity now to advance diplomatic solutions,” he said.

However, this process cannot go on indefinitely. Mr. Raisi is a hardline cleric. He has succeeded Mr.Hassan Rouhani. The new president is also close to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has been touted as the possible successor.

Among these major challenges, he is facing a battered economy. It is growing and leading to discontent among the Iranians, who are seeing a sharp rise in their living cost. Iran is also blaming the US Sanctions for the acute shortage of medicines.

Besides the economic crisis, Iran is also battling the pandemic. Iran has also seen a wave of street protests in the southwest, which has triggered water shortages.

Former judiciary chief Mr. Raisi has faced much criticism over his human rights record. Campaign groups have accused him of involvement in the execution of thousands of political prisoners. The US has also imposed sanctions on Mr. Raisi in 20189 for his alleged abuse of human rights.

Credits: BBC