Status: 04.08.2022 5:25 p.m
After months of deadlock, negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal have resumed. However, hopes for a breakthrough are muted.
Negotiations to save the nuclear deal with Iran continue: The first multilateral round of talks since March began in Vienna, mediated by high-ranking EU diplomat Enrique Mora.
Western diplomats believe that there are only a few weeks left to restore the pact that is intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program. For the time being, however, there was no sign of an immediate breakthrough.
The 2015 international nuclear agreement with Tehran aims to ensure that the country does not build nuclear weapons. It was negotiated by the USA, China, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain and Iran. However, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under its then President Donald Trump, after which Iran gradually renounced its obligations under the agreement.
For the time being only bilateral talks
On the first day of negotiations, bilateral meetings took place in the Palais Coburg, a luxury hotel. EU coordinator Mora received the Russian ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov, then the Chinese representative Wang Qun and finally the Iranian chief negotiator Ali Bagheri.
The latter called on the United States on Wednesday to “seize this opportunity (…) to act responsibly.” A separate meeting was also held between Iranians and Russians, who have traditionally been close in the talks.
US officials not very optimistic
It is the first time since March that all contracting parties have met again. “Our expectations are limited,” US negotiator Robert Malley previously wrote on Twitter. However, the US welcomed the EU initiative and was ready to try to reach an agreement.
Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell submitted a compromise draft to the parties involved in the Vienna negotiations and called on them to accept it in order “to avoid a dangerous nuclear crisis.” Iran then expressed “optimistic” on Monday that a revival of the nuclear agreement could be achieved.
Iran sticks to core demand
At the beginning of the negotiations, Iran showed little willingness to compromise. Tehran, via the state news agency IRNA, denied that it had given up attempts to have the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards removed from the US terror list. This condition for an agreement was considered one of the most difficult points in the talks.
US elections possible factor
Western diplomats fear that the chances of compromise in November’s US congressional election campaign are dwindling as both Democrat and Republican lawmakers mistrust a deal with Iran.
At the same time, experts and diplomats fear that Tehran will soon have enough nuclear know-how to build nuclear weapons despite a return to the 2015 restrictions. On Tuesday, the IAEA reported that Iran needed only a few weeks to produce the starting material for a nuclear bomb. Tehran has always emphasized that nuclear technology should only be used for peaceful purposes.