Speaking in an online interview with the Russian TV network Russia Today, Mohammad Marandi said the West is lying about the Iranian nuclear program being a threat.

“During the Vienna nuclear negotiations, Western regimes constantly claimed Iran’s nuclear program was reaching a point of no return. Months have passed since the talks and the West is silent. Why? They were lying,” Marandi said.

Iranian officials on multiple occasions have reiterated that the country does not intend to produce nuclear bombs, which it has forbidden due to ethical and religious principles. During the third Tehran Dialogue Forum (TDF), Head of the Iranian Strategic Council of Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi censured the Westerners who failed to fulfill their commitments under the JCPOA and the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear eal.

Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassador to the UN Saeed Iravani, last week expressed the country’ readiness to resume the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions, saying the onus is on the US to show genuine political will and stand ready to work towards a satisfying solution.