Iran says it is ready to end nuclear stand-off with the West

Iran is ready to end its nuclear stand-off with the West, President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Sept 24, while calling for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine via dialogue.

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Iran's clerical establishment hopes to see an easing of US sanctions that have crippled the country's economy.

Mr Pezeshkian said: “We are ready to engage with participants of the 2015 nuclear deal. If the deal's commitments are implemented fully and in good faith, dialogue on other issues can follow.”

Then President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and six world powers in 2018 and re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran. Efforts to revive the pact – which limited Iran's ability to enrich uranium in return for a lifting of Western sanctions – have failed.

The 2015 deal had capped Iran's uranium enrichment at 3.67 per cent purity and its stockpile of this material at 202.8kg – limits Tehran has since far exceeded.

For Britain, France and Germany, which remain parties to the nuclear deal, there is a sense that Tehran's leadership will not change course and that a broader accord encompassing the nuclear programme and Iran's geopolitical role is unrealistic for now.