Negotiators hope that the next round of talks in Vienna will lead to the lifting of US sanctions and that Iran will comply again.
Tehran, Iran – At the end of two more weeks of negotiations, representatives of the world powers that are part of Iran’s nuclear deal in 2015 seem safer than work to restore the benchmark agreement will soon be successful.
The fourth round of talks in Vienna began in early May, three years after former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States of the agreement formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), which imposes strict sanctions on Iran.
Following a meeting of the Joint Commission on Wednesday between Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union at the Grand Hotel – with the US in yet another hotel – the negotiators expressed optimism.
“JCPOA participants at today’s meeting have noted that‘ good ’or‘ significant ’progress has been made and that there is an‘ within reach ’agreement,” tweeted Mikhail Ulyanov, the principal. Russian negotiator.
The fourth round of talks in Vienna is over. He #JCPOA Participants in today’s meeting noted that progress has been made “well” or “significantly” and that an agreement is “within reach”. The Joint Commission will resume its work early next week. Hopefully the fifth round is final. pic.twitter.com/4aVStIIm8Z
– Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) May 19, 2021
EU coordinator Enrique Mora shared a similar sentiment and said “an agreement is being finalized” and a common agreement has been reached on the measures needed to lift US sanctions and reduce the steps that Iran has taken over since 2019 advance its nuclear program.
After leaving the hotel, Mora told reporters, “I’m sure there will be a final deal not long.”
Joint Commission today. Advances made during the last two weeks. But much more work is needed. A third group of experts was set up to address sequencing issues. I still think that diplomacy is the only way forward for the #JCPOA to meet ongoing challenges ” pic.twitter.com/CDaU4BrY8e
– Enrique Mora (@enriquemora_) April 20, 2021
Negotiators will now return to their countries to discuss progress and return to the Austrian capital early next week to carry out what is expected to be the last round of negotiations to restore the nuclear deal.
However, not all the many obstacles in the recovery of the JCPOA have been removed.
Hours before Wednesday’s meeting began, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top negotiator, said good progress had been made, but several key issues required further assessment before the next round of talks.
“We hope to reach a conclusion on these issues also in the coming weeks after returning to the next round of negotiations,” he said.
Two upcoming dates have put pressure on talks: the May 21 deadline for a three-month deal Iran signed with the global nuclear watchdog in February and Iran’s presidential election on June 18th.
The agreement was signed by the moderate Iranian government with the International Atomic Energy Agency despite vehement opposition by the hard parliament. He claimed that Iran would keep the camera tapes of its nuclear sites pending the total elimination of US sanctions, or else they would be removed, leaving a control gap.
Earlier this month, Araghchi suggested that Iran be open to renewing the deal if necessary.
Iranian lawmakers continue to try to influence the talks and several representatives have said they oppose the renewal of the IAEA agreement.
On Tuesday, some 200 lawmakers signed a statement saying that if “100 percent of the sanctions are not lifted, they have not been lifted.”
President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday promised the Iranian people that “the end of the Vienna negotiations would be the victory of the people.”
In response to the harshest people claiming that the JCPOA is a failure of the government, the President stressed that every step of the nuclear deal and efforts to restore it have been implemented by “order” and under the “guidance” “of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
This is while a large number of candidates have registered for the next presidential election (which will see Rouhani replaced after serving two terms) and the constitutional review body known as the Guardian Council has until May 27 to consider how many are qualified to apply.
The head of the Conservative judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, is considered the leader.
