Tel Aviv [Israel], December 11 (ANI/Sputnik): Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has announced discussing Iran's nuclear program and other issues in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"This evening, I spoke with my friend [Antony Blinken] about our joint efforts to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear threshold state, my visit to Cairo, the arrival of new U.S. Ambassador to Israel [Tom Nides], and expanding the circle of peace," Lapid tweeted late on Friday.

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According to Lapid's statement on the conversation, issued by his press service, the Israeli minister told his US counterpart that sanctions against Iran should remain in place even if the nuclear deal talks are renewed.

In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aimed at scaling back Iran's nuclear program and signed by the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union, and enacted hardline policies against Tehran.

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Iran largely abandoned its own obligations under the accord, too, after the US withdrawal. The seventh round of talks to revive the deal began in late November. (ANI/Sputnik)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)