Iran sets date to resume talks on nuclear deal

Iran has agreed to resume talks with world powers of reviving the landmark 2015 nuclear deal on November 29. "We agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful & inhumane sanctions on 29 November in Vienna," Iran's chief negotiator  Ali Bagheri Kani wrote in a tweet later confirmed in U.S. and EU statements. The discussions have been on hold since the election of Iran's new hard-line president in June. The US pulled out of the deal under President Donald Trump, but Washington has since said it could consider rejoining. The Biden administration said it will attend the Vienna meet, along with the remaining signatories, the UK, China, France, Germany and Russia.

The six rounds of talks held so far have been indirect, with chiefly European diplomats shuttling between U.S. and Iranian officials because Iran refuses direct contact with the United States.  U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States hoped Tehran would return in good faith and ready to negotiate. Washington believed they should resume where they adjourned in June.  Earlier, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council suggested negotiations to revive the deal would fail unless U.S. President Joe Biden could guarantee that Washington would not again abandon the pact.