Iran nuclear talks resume in Vienna

Vienna, Jan 3 (EFE).- International negotiations on the future of the nuclear pact with Iran are set to continue in Vienna on Monday after participants took a three-day break over the new year.

On Thursday, the eighth round of talks between Iran and five world powers – Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany – was concluded amid cautious optimism about a possible agreement.

Russian negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov said in a statement then that a deal was expected in the “first half of February if some unexpected factors do not interfere and spoil everything.”

But he admitted that consensus is yet to be reached on complicated problems.

“The problem is that we are dealing with a very complicated issue which consists of a lot of various (…) question marks, problems. It takes time. We are dealing with sanctions lifting (imposed by the US on Iran),” Ulyanov added.

Delegations from Iran and the other signatories of the deal resumed the talks in November after a five-month hiatus, with the United States taking part in the negotiations indirectly.

The first six rounds of negotiations took place between April and June but were disrupted after Iran elected ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi president.

Participants are trying to find a way to salvage the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under which the US, Germany, France, the UK, Russia and China agreed to lift international sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

However, former US president Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed strict sanctions on Tehran, which in return downsized its commitment to its atomic obligations.

According to the negotiators meeting in the Austrian capital, there are some weeks left and not months to reach a deal and reestablish the rules and limits of the JCPOA.EFE

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