Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi

:: Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi is urging the West to change course in the Middle East in order to save the historic atomic deal, saying “the moment of truth has arrived.”

The accord, reached between Tehran and world powers in Vienna in July 2015, saw Iran drastically curb its nuclear activities. In return, nuclear-related Western and UN sanctions were lifted.

But writing in Friday’s Guardian newspaper, Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said negotiating agreements with Western powers had been a “mixed experience” for Tehran.

“Often, following some hard-won engagement, some Western nations, whether distracted by shortsighted political motivations or the lucrative inducements of other regional actors, walk away and allow the whole situation to return to the status quo ante,” he said.

Salehi was writing against the background of increasing US-Iran tensions since President Donald Trump came to power.

He said the nuclear deal could be saved but it would take concerted action and a clarification of Western security policy in the Middle East.