Iran
Diplomats of the EU, China, Russia and Iran at the start of talks at the Grand Hotel in Vienna on April 6, 2021. Photo: handout/EU delegation to Vienna/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Parties to the Iran nuclear deal agreed to continue talks next week, wrapping up their second face-to-face meeting to revive the agreement in Vienna on Friday.
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov said the talks have “positive momentum.”
“JCPOA participants took stock of the work done by experts over the last three days and noted with satisfaction the initial progress made,” he tweeted after the meeting ended, referring to the nuclear deal by its official title – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Negotiating teams from Iran and the United States are in Vienna for indirect talks to find a way back to full compliance with the nuclear accord, that would see Washington lifting sanctions and Tehran walking back on its increased nuclear activity like advanced centrifuges and boosted uranium enrichment.
Iran has said it will return to full compliance with the deal, but only after the United States lifts all sanctions it imposed after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement. Washington wants to return to the accord, but also wants to expand negotiations to include Iran’s human rights record, regional activities, and ballistic missile program.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and a member of the Iranian delegation in Vienna, said Tehran would have to ensure the sanctions were lifted “in action” and not just “on paper” before taking steps.
That means, “for instance, the Islamic Republic must be able to sign its oil contracts and export it and bring in its revenues via banking channels or consider other uses for it," he said in an interview published on the website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Or, in the banking sector, [Iran] must be able to conduct its financial transactions using different financial channels," he added.
China’s ambassador Wang Qun told reporters that talks are moving in the right direction and the two sides are narrowing their differences, Reuters reported.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is leading Tehran’s delegation at the talks. In the meeting, he said that Iran is serious about reviving the deal, but it depends on “political will” and seriousness on the part of the other participants, according to Tasnim News.
Talks between deputies and experts groups will continue next week.
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov said the talks have “positive momentum.”
“JCPOA participants took stock of the work done by experts over the last three days and noted with satisfaction the initial progress made,” he tweeted after the meeting ended, referring to the nuclear deal by its official title – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Negotiating teams from Iran and the United States are in Vienna for indirect talks to find a way back to full compliance with the nuclear accord, that would see Washington lifting sanctions and Tehran walking back on its increased nuclear activity like advanced centrifuges and boosted uranium enrichment.
Iran has said it will return to full compliance with the deal, but only after the United States lifts all sanctions it imposed after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement. Washington wants to return to the accord, but also wants to expand negotiations to include Iran’s human rights record, regional activities, and ballistic missile program.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and a member of the Iranian delegation in Vienna, said Tehran would have to ensure the sanctions were lifted “in action” and not just “on paper” before taking steps.
That means, “for instance, the Islamic Republic must be able to sign its oil contracts and export it and bring in its revenues via banking channels or consider other uses for it," he said in an interview published on the website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Or, in the banking sector, [Iran] must be able to conduct its financial transactions using different financial channels," he added.
China’s ambassador Wang Qun told reporters that talks are moving in the right direction and the two sides are narrowing their differences, Reuters reported.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is leading Tehran’s delegation at the talks. In the meeting, he said that Iran is serious about reviving the deal, but it depends on “political will” and seriousness on the part of the other participants, according to Tasnim News.
Talks between deputies and experts groups will continue next week.
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