Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday a breakthrough in talks in Vienna to revive a nuclear deal before he leaves office in August required a “will” beyond his power.
Rouhani is Iran’s main architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, which was torpedoed by former US President Donald Trump in 2018.
Under its terms, international sanctions against Iran were eased in return for a commitment from Tehran that it would not seek to develop nuclear weapons.
But the final decision regarding the ongoing Vienna negotiations rests with the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Our main issues with the United States in these negotiations have been resolved, and there are only a few minor issues left, on which we will negotiate and produce results,” Rouhani said, at a televised cabinet meeting.
“If there is the will that this be done in the current administration, then this administration has finished the work,” he added.
Iranians vote on June 18 for a new president, Rouhani having served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed under the constitution. He will hand over power in August.
