Iran Nuclear Talks: Iranian Delegation Heads to Vienna
An Iranian delegation is set to leave for Vienna for a continuation of nuclear negotiations. Chief negotiator Ali Bagheri and his team will set off within the next few hours, the Iranian government announced today.
Can the original Iran Nuclear deal be revived? / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / United States Department of State, Public Domain
In an unexpected move, the European Union is convening all negotiators on Thursday for a sudden and unexpected resumption of talks, according to POLITICO.
According to POLITICO, Negotiators will gather in Vienna in an attempt to salvage any semblance of hope. The U.S., Iranian, Chinese, Russian, German, British, and French diplomats will attend, along with the EU, which is acting as a mediator since Iran refuses to speak directly with the U.S.
EU Coordinator Enrique Mora, who is acting as a mediator in the talks, also announced a trip to Vienna on the short message service Twitter.
On my way to Vienna to discuss #JCPOA back to full implementation on the basis of the coordinator's text tabled on 20 July. #ViennaTalks. Extremely grateful to Austrian authorities.
— Enrique Mora (@enriquemora_) August 3, 2022
Efforts to revive the 2015 agreement aim to curb Iran's nuclear program. In return, sanctions are to fall. Former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally terminated the agreement in 2018 and imposed new, tough sanctions.
After that, Tehran also no longer saw itself bound by it. Negotiations have been stalled for months. The background is said to be primarily differences between Tehran and the U.S. government over the status of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In the U.S., the Revolutionary Guards are on a list of terrorist organizations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently warned that Iran needs only a few weeks to produce the basic material for a nuclear bomb. As Vindobona.org reported, Iran claims that they are already able to build Nuclear weapons, but does not intend to do so. Whether this was a bluff to exert more pressure in the negotiations, the next days will show. Tehran always stresses that it uses nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes. As of yet, it is unclear how senior the officials present will be and how long the talks will last.