Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi stated that the United States must drop its "excessive demands" in nuclear talks to achieve a successful outcome. He made the remarks during a phone call with Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdel Ati, as reported by the ISNA news agency on Friday.

Aragchi said: "Success on this path requires seriousness and realism on the part of the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands." He did not elaborate on specific demands.

This statement tempered his previous comments where he hailed "progress" at the talks and described the last round in Geneva as the "most intense so far."

Since resuming talks last month, the US has demanded Iran dismantle its nuclear infrastructure entirely, limit ballistic missiles, and stop supporting regional allies. Tehran has shown flexibility on uranium enrichment limits for civilian use but treats missiles and proxies as non-negotiables.

Regional military buildup has intensified. The US authorized the departure of nonemergency embassy staff from Israel, and China urged its citizens to evacuate from Iran "as soon as possible." Similar orders were issued earlier for Lebanon, Canada, India, the UK, and Poland.

Source: www.aljazeera.com