Iran hopeful nuclear talks will resume as Russian FM visits

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran was hoping that talks with major world powers over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal "would reach the point of an agreement in a near future," as he stood next to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, at a joint press conference in Tehran June 23. The Iranian minister, however, conditioned such progress upon the United States adopting a "realistic" approach.

The United States and Iran were indirectly engaged in negotiations over the 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, more than a year of diplomacy that also involved other JCPOA signatories — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia — was suspended in March.