Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the continuation of Washington’s sanctions as leverage against Tehran in the ongoing nuclear talks is not acceptable. Zarif made the remark during a phone conversation with EU Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrell. He said the current US administration should not use sanctions imposed by its predecessor as leverage against Iran. Zarif described the sanctions as “illegal and inhumane”, adding that the fundamental change in this approach by the Biden administration is a necessary condition for the success of the Vienna talks. Iran and the remaining signatories of the nuclear deal have already held several rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital. They say they made significant progress in the last round, but that key issues remain unresolved.