After more than three hours of talks, the first day of the round of talks between Iran and the other members of the nuclear agreement that took place today (Monday) is over, but it seems that real progress is still far away, and both sides are facing a dead end.
The working teams are expected to continue to meet tomorrow as well in order to clear up more issues, said the EU representative for talks, Enrique More.
He added that "there is a sense of urgency" that the agreement needs to be brought back to life, but on the other hand, they recognize that there is a new regime in Tehran and new delegation members that need to adapt.
In the coming days, the professional working teams will meet to discuss sanctions and the various ways to bring the agreement back into full implementation, with the main emphasis at first being to first talk about things on which there is agreement, but added that transparency is required in the Iranian nuclear program.
A teacher stressed that he "feels positive", but declined to say whether he is optimistic or pessimistic.
He said the current round - the seventh in number - may be like the rest of the rounds and include beyond the bilateral meetings also a return of delegation representatives to their capitals to consult with their governments.
He said a return to the nuclear deal was necessary to "put an end to the suffering of the Iranian people."
Iranian Foreign Minister Vienna,
The most important representative in the contacts is the United States, but as stated it is not an official part of the meetings, which take place as part of the mechanism for implementing the nuclear agreement of which it is not a member and therefore can not attend it. A way to settle the dispute.Iran on the one hand insists that there is no scenario in which it returns to the 2015 agreement because the US has proved that it cannot abide by it, and on the other hand, the US insists that first of all the 2015 agreement must be implemented mutually and in parallel.
Working on public opinion
Minutes before the parties returned to the negotiating table, the Iranians continued with the media blitz in an attempt to skew public opinion in their favor.
Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdulhian today published an opinion piece entitled "Vienna talks in favor of lifting sanctions" on Iran Daily.
The senior diplomat reiterated the official line of the Islamic Republic, according to which "Iran is serious, acts in good faith, and sees in the practical and tangible result the removal of sanctions," he stressed at the beginning of the column.
The place where the talks take place in Vienna, Photo: Reuters
In addition, Abdulhian praised the regime's stance on the deadlock in nuclear talks and blamed the United States for failure.
However, the Iranian official warned that "Iran will not accept requests beyond the original agreement" and stressed that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not enter into any discussion on issues beyond the nuclear agreement".
"I want to emphasize again that this opportunity is not a window that can remain open forever and that the United States and the three European countries must understand this well," he concluded.
At the same time as the events in the Austrian capital, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, met with French President Emanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us