Iran accuses Israel of lying to poison Vienna talks

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Iran accuses Israel of lying to poison Vienna talks

Iranian flag flies in front of UN office building, housing the IAEA headquarters, amid the coronaviruses disease COVID - 19 pandemic, in Vienna, Austria on May 24, 2021. REUTERS Lisi Niesner File Photo

VIENNA, Dec 1, Reuters -- Iran accused Israel of trumpeting lies to poison the Vienna talks on reviving Tehran's 2015 nuclear agreement with major powers, and said all parties in the negotiations faced a test of their political will to complete the job.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh posted on Twitter without specifying what Israeli comments he meant by trumpeting lies to poison Vienna talks.

He said that all parties in the room now have to face a test of their political will to carry out the job despite the fake news designed to destroy prospects for success.

A Tel Aviv-based reporter for U.S. news organization Axios reported on Monday that Israel had shared intelligence with the United States and several European allies over the past two weeks and that Iran is taking technical steps to prepare for a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that it was not known what news reports Khatibzadeh meant.

After meeting French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday that Iran was trying to get time to advance its nuclear programme, and major powers needed to come up with a different approach.

Sanctions need to be reinforced and there needs to be a credible military threat because it is the only thing that will prevent Iran from carrying out its race for nuclear weapons, Lapid said in a statement.