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Iran leader speaks at UN, seeks nuke talks

Parisa HafeziAAP
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
Camera IconIranian President Ebrahim Raisi has addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Credit: EPA

Iran wants a resumption of nuclear talks with world powers to lead to the removal of US sanctions, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has told the annual United Nations General Assembly in a pre-recorded address.

"The Islamic Republic considers the useful talks whose ultimate outcome is the lifting of all oppressive (US) sanctions," Raisi said in his address.

Hardline cleric Raisi, who is under personal US sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses in his past as a judge, said the US sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump in 2018 "were crimes against humanity during the coronavirus pandemic".

Harsh sanctions reimposed by the US since 2018 have prompted Iran to violate the deal's limits.

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However, Iran says its nuclear steps are reversible if the US lifts all sanctions.

Indirect talks between Iran and the US to revive the 2015 nuclear pact stopped two days after Raisi was elected as Iran's president in June.

Parties involved in the negotiations have yet to announce when the next round of negotiations will resume.

However, Iran said on Tuesday that talks with world powers in Vienna to reinstate the nuclear pact would resume in a few weeks.

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