Qatar is hosting indirect talks between Iran and the United States on resuming the 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian media reported on Monday.

The move follows the announcement of EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell over the weekend that the EU is resuming negotiations with Iran on a nuclear deal.

“Iran has chosen Qatar to host the talks because of Doha’s friendly ties with Tehran,” Mohammad Marandi, a media adviser to Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, told the ISNA news agency on Monday, according to a Reuters report.

Iran International reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday: “We confirm that there have been agreements regarding the format, essence and topics” for the new round of talks. “The most important aspect of the talks was that America has given assurances to act based on the entirety of the JCPOA and issues covered by resolution 2231, taking into account Iran’s [expected] economic benefits” from a renewed nuclear agreement.

“We must wait and see if the Americans will part with Trump’s legacy and Borrell’s messages become a reality,” Khatibzadeh asserted. “We will continue the talks with seriousness and decisiveness with the caveat of not fully trusting America.”

The move comes despite Iran’s recent provocative launch of a solid-fueled rocket into space, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s rare condemnation of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities and its removal of 27 surveillance cameras from nuclear sites, and Iran’s ongoing efforts to murder citizens of the US and those of its allies.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)