British Foreign Minister Liz Truss has urged Iran to agree to return to the stalled nuclear deal worked out with world powers in 2015, saying it is the "last chance" to do so.
"This is really the last chance for Iran to sign up, and I strongly urge them to do that because we are determined to work with our allies to prevent Iran securing nuclear weapons," Truss told the Chatham House think tank on December 8.
Talks between world powers and Iran regarding Tehran's controversial nuclear program are scheduled to resume on December 9 in Vienna.
The negotiations aimed at resurrecting the deal, under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, got off to a rocky start last week.
The United States, which left the agreement in 2018 but which is open to rejoining the pact under President Joe Biden, has accused Iran of not being seriously interested in a new deal.
And Germany, a member of the P5+1 group that signed on to the original deal, on December 6 said it had reviewed Tehran's proposals for restarting the accord "and concluded that Iran had violated almost all compromises found previously in months of hard negotiation."
The proposals were "not a basis for a successful end to talks," a spokeswoman for Germany's Foreign Ministry said, adding that Berlin expected Iran to return to international negotiations with "realistic" bargaining positions.
Iran, which has refused to participate in direct talks with Washington, has said that there can be no new deal unless all punitive sanctions imposed against Tehran are lifted.
