Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Head Ali Akbar Salehi, in a meeting with United Nations Chief António Guterres on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum, said his country believes that European proposals for saving the nuclear deal are insufficient, expressing doubt on Iran staying in the agreement. Iranian official agencies quoted Salehi as saying that the outcome of the nuclear deal for national economy, banking and investment was “less than the Iranian expectations.” In his trip to Oslo, the Iranian nuclear chief held meetings with top officials from Norway, the EU and the UN. He called on countries that support the nuclear deal to declare a clear position on policies relayed by US President Donald Trump, who announced his countrys withdrawal from the nuclear agreement on May 8 and signed the return of economic sanctions against Iran within six months. Salehi defended Tehrans regional role, warning of the danger of the dire situation in the Middle East. “If the current course continues, everyone will be at loss,” he said. Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 between Iran and Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany. Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord. Iranian former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi yesterday discussed with Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi Italian-Iranian relations as well as the nuclear agreement. Rome has been the venue for negotiations between Tehran and the European Union over its regional role in the past two months. Tehran confirmed that it had held negotiations on its role in Yemen. It was unclear whether Kharrazi had continued the negotiations. But official reports indicated that Kharrazis consultations pushed for a nuclear deal to be linked to regional security, a matter which Tehran rejected before the US withdrawal. “We have reiterated our readiness to engage in any effort that will lead to the promotion of peace and security in the region, provided that reality is taken into consideration and that the key regional players are ready to sit at the negotiating table and cooperate in taking correct positions towards developments,” Kharrazi said. “The important point is the nuclear agreement,” Kharrazi was quoted as saying by Iranian television. “We know that European countries are trying to maintain the nuclear agreement,” said Kharrazi. “We want strong and practical guarantees to preserve the nuclear agreement,” he added. Italy was one of the countries that opposed the imposition of European sanctions proposed by Germany, France and Britain on Tehrans regional role and the ballistic missile program, with the aim of convincing Trump back into the nuclear agreement. Trade between Tehran and Rome is worth between five to eight billion dollars. Trade relations between the two sides witnessed a remarkable growth of $ 1.4 billion in 2017.