Iran split over talks with Europe to save nuclear deal
Iranian media outlets and officials are divided over working with Europe to save the nuclear deal, with hard-liners and conservatives insisting new negotiations will offer Tehran nothing.
![AFP_14O6ZG Newspapers in Tehran on May 9, 2018 headline the US' withdrawal from the nuclear deal. - Iran's press today condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2018/05/GettyImages-956343594.jpg/GettyImages-956343594.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=IhJy64jj)
In brief remarks about the fate of the nuclear deal, Ali Akbar Velayati, who is serving as foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has expressed his doubt about the potential for Iran and Europe to reach an agreement over the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“It is unlikely that negotiations with the Europeans will work out. I hope we reach a result, but how long should we wait to see America applying sanctions against us or lifting the sanctions? We should be self-sufficient,” stated Velayati, who is also head of Islamic Azad University’s board of founders, in a meeting at the university.