An audio file has emerged of senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Baqeri-Kani being quoted by an Iranian journalist as having outlined the key steps and modalities to be adopted by Tehran and Washington if the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is to be restored. While the assertions cannot be independently verified, a senior Iranian source has told Amwaj.media that they are “almost accurate.” Pressed on which aspects may be inaccurate, the source responded that Baqeri-Kani “has not said everything.”

The narrative of defiance: The audio file begins with Baqeri-Kani being quoted as having outlined the conservative Ebrahim Raisi administration’s different approach to the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal is formally known, in indirect talks with the US over the past year...