Despite the stubborn issues still pending among negotiators at the Vienna table to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran, Russia, especially through its representative in the Austrian capital, Mikhail Ulyanov, continues to show notable optimism. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also hinted at a degree of optimism. "The ball is in the West's court," he wrote in a tweet on Friday: "The Vienna talks are progressing normally and well." He added that "initiatives from his country contributed to creating this atmosphere," claiming that "it is now up to the West to show whether it has good intentions and a serious will to reach a good agreement."
In the same context, Ulyanov tweeted in response to a follower's question about whether the Iranian delegation would soon sit at the same table with the Americans in Vienna, stating that it would happen. He added, "My impression is that Iran and the United States will sit together at the same table upon the restoration of the nuclear agreement, lifting sanctions, and the return of the United States to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," referring to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 with Iran, from which the previous U.S. administration under Donald Trump withdrew, reimposing hundreds of sanctions on Tehran.
The main obstacle was mentioned as the Russian envoy emphasized in a previous interview with Al Arabiya two days ago that the core issue in negotiations lies in the U.S. sanctions and the manner of their removal, especially since the Iranian delegation insists on lifting them without exception, also demanding guarantees to verify this. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department clarified on Wednesday that the talks resumed last month (December 2021) in their eighth round have made modest and timid progress, reiterating that time is running out. Washington has often stated in recent weeks that its patience will not be limitless, stressing that the available time is very tight, amid warnings from Western diplomats that this round should be the last and that an agreement must be reached by the end of this month (January) or February at the latest.
It is worth noting that nuclear talks between Iran and Western countries – Britain, France, Germany, along with China and Russia, with indirect U.S. participation – began in April 2021, completing seven rounds before stopping in June after the election of the new Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, and then resuming last November. However, the parties have not yet reached an agreement that overcomes all obstacles, particularly those related to the hundreds of sanctions imposed on Iran over the past years, some of which pertain to terrorism, not just nuclear activities.
