The Viennese talks on a resettlement of the nuclear deal with Iran are to continue today. The remaining contracting parties Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany as well as Iran, which does not want to hold direct talks with the USA, which withdrew from the 2015 agreement in 2018, are taking part in the negotiations, which are taking place under the auspices of the EU.
While the representative of Russia was cautiously optimistic in the run-up to the latest round of negotiations, the Iranian chief negotiator dampened expectations. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi emphasized that no, not even a temporary and partial agreement had been reached in the Vienna talks on the possible return of the US to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Discuss elimination of US sanctions
„Iran is only using the talks to discuss the ‚final step‘ in removing suppressive US sanctions,“ Araqchi told state television. The Islamic Republic rejects negotiations that are dragging on for a long time. So far, the differences have not yet been resolved.
Araqchi reiterated that some serious disagreements would need to be resolved during further negotiations. The senior diplomat agreed with statements made by revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned against lengthy talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. He also rejected the US proposals during the talks.
Russian Ambassador: „Design phase“
In contrast, the Russian ambassador to the UN organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, announced yesterday that the ongoing negotiations in Vienna had entered a „draft phase“ of a possible agreement. However, some problems are „still a long way off.“
