Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov, who heads his country's delegation in nuclear negotiations with Iran, stated that the negotiations in Vienna are making progress and the goal is to conclude the talks as quickly as possible. He noted that the target date remains May 21, although it has become "difficult but not impossible." Ulyanov considered the skepticism of some regarding the possibility of reinstating the nuclear deal by the end of this month to be a "hasty conclusion."
European sources told Al Arabiya that a political decision is needed to move the negotiations forward. The Europeans, who are mediating these indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, hope to restore the agreement before the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspection operations in Iran come to an end. The negotiators are working on the Iranian nuclear agreement to achieve a breakthrough before May 20, which marks the expiration of the technical agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran to complete inspection operations.
The Iranians had announced their readiness to extend this deadline if a political solution had not been reached by then. However, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated on Tuesday that the gap remains wide between Washington and Tehran in the negotiations regarding the nuclear agreement in Vienna. Price refused to specify whether the talks, which have entered their fifth day, had made any progress in recent days on unresolved issues, but he emphasized that Washington would not provide exemptions to Iran related to terrorism.
Iranian media reported that the Vienna talks had hit a deadlock after the U.S. refused to lift sanctions on 500 individuals and entities. European mediators are conducting marathon meetings throughout the day between the Iranians and Americans in Vienna, hoping to achieve a breakthrough in the coming days and restore the nuclear agreement, which they consider essential to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
