Iraqi FM calls for direct Iran-US talks on nuclear deal

By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media say Iraq’s foreign minister has called for direct negotiations between Iran and the United States. It’s a rare appeal just days before world powers are set to resume talks over the tattered nuclear accord in Vienna. The top Iraqi diplomat spoke at a news conference on Thursday after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Tehran. He stressed that heightened tension between Iran and the U.S., Baghdad’s two powerful allies, directly affects his country’s stability. Tehran’s 2015 atomic deal with world powers that granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program has unraveled since America withdrew from the accord three years ago.