Iran's Foreign Ministry stated today, Saturday, that a deal in Vienna is still possible, referring to the talks about the nuclear agreement with major powers and the United States. Tehran added, "We have been the most active party in Vienna, having submitted most of the drafts." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated that the United States must return to the nuclear agreement, not Iran. His remarks came in response to statements by the French Foreign Minister, who mentioned, "We are waiting for Iran's final decision to return to the nuclear agreement." Khatibzadeh said, "Iran has never abandoned the nuclear agreement to return to it; rather, it is the U.S. that must make final decisions to return by lifting illegal sanctions and effectively fulfilling its final commitments." He also asserted that his country's position has not changed since the beginning of talks in the Austrian capital, which is a demand to lift U.S. sanctions and then verify before Iranian actions and resuming his country's commitments under the 2015 agreement.
These statements followed comments by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday, where he expressed that he is waiting for Iran's final decision to return to the nuclear agreement. He said, "We are awaiting the Iranian authorities to make the final decisions, which are likely difficult, but will allow the ongoing negotiations in Vienna to revive the nuclear agreement to conclude."
It is noteworthy that both France and the U.S. warned yesterday of the dangers of procrastination in the negotiations. Blinken stated that returning to this agreement would be extremely difficult if the talks drag on too long. The talks that began last April in Vienna to revive the nuclear agreement from which the U.S. administration withdrew in 2018 have not led to a complete or officially announced consensus despite multiple positive statements from European officials regarding this point. However, several U.S. and Iranian officials clarified in recent days that a number of important issues remain unresolved.
