Agreement in Vienna hinges on political decisions of 'other side': Iran

Iran's Foreign Ministry says reaching an agreement between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries over the 2015 deal at the talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna hinges on the political decisions of the “other side.”

“There is no deadlock in Vienna [talks], the negotiations are being held as before," the Foreign Ministry's Spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said at a weekly press conference on Monday.

According to Press TV, he said “When dialogues reach days in which serious issues must be discussed, they become difficult. Certainly, they are facing some delays.”

The spokesman added Tehran, after the return of the Iranian delegation to Iran, once again reviewed and discussed the presented proposal.

“Of course, giving and receiving proposals is normal, and no extraordinary thing has happened.”

The pending issues in the Vienna talks are “key issues”, he said, adding reaching an agreement in the negotiations “is awaiting political decisions of the other side”.

“Tehran has made its political decisions years ago and remained in the JCPOA. We are waiting to receive an answer to Iran’s initiatives and proposals.”

“The more the will of Americans and the European troika increases, the more our distance from reaching an agreement decreases,” he said, referring to France, Germany and Britain who are signatories to the 2015 deal.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.

Following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of a non-performance by the other side.

The US administration of President Joe Biden had voiced a willingness to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.

Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for roughly 10 months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.

The eighth round of the talks has resumed since Sunday after it was put on pause as diplomats returned to their capitals for consultations.

ME