CAIRO, July 15. /TASS/. Iran is genuinely interested in signing a nuclear deal with the United States in order to ensure its national interests, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani said.

"Based on the results of a series of contacts [with Iranian officials], we get the impression that the Iranian leadership is sincerely determined to reach an agreement [with the US] that would ensure Iran’s interests and allay the fears of the international community," he said in an interview with the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

"The Iranian leadership has not made a decision on the development of nuclear weapons," he said, adding that "a path to a peaceful settlement remains open."

Iran and the United States have been holding indirect Oman-brokered talks on the settlement of the situation around the Iranian nuclear program since April. After several attempts to reach an agreement, the talks turned out to be hanging by a thread due to disagreements between the US and Iran over uranium enrichment. The sixth round of talks was supposed to take place in Muscat on June 15, but after the Israeli strikes, the consultations were called off. Since then, the Iranian side has repeatedly said that there are no concrete arrangements to resume the negotiating process.