Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the talks in Vienna aimed at rescuing the 2015 nuclear deal had opened “a new chapter.”
Officials from Iran met with their counterparts from Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Although the United States (US) delegation, led by the Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley, also attended the talks, it did not directly meet with the Iranian side. Instead, diplomats from other countries held separate meetings with both the US and Iran.
While the discussions are not expected to produce any immediate breakthroughs between the two nations, it is seen as a major step forward in reaching a settlement regarding the JCPOA. The US has called on the Islamic Republic to take several steps in order to return to compliance with the deal as a precondition to any sanctions relief; however, Iran has rejected any “step-by-step” easing of sanctions and has repeatedly said that it will only return to the agreement if all the punitive measures are unconditionally lifted. Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh reiterated Iran’s position by tweeting that “the only US path back to the deal is full compliance and effective removal of all imposed, re-imposed and re-labeled sanctions” while adding that “unlike the US, Iran remains a JCPOA participant.”
According to a report by Reuters, the parties attending the talks in the Austrian capital agreed to form two expert-level groups, whose purpose would be to bring together the lists of sanctions the US could lift and the nuclear steps that Iran should meet. The groups, which are chaired by the European Union (EU), would not include the US, as Tehran has asserted that it will only meet with Washington once all sanctions have been removed.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a cabinet meeting held in Tehran, said that “there is no other way but the full implementation of the deal, and this is a great success for Iran.” “A new chapter has just been opened yesterday,” the leader said, adding that his government managed the country in a way that “not only our friends but also our enemies admit that maximum pressure has failed.” Rouhani has been working to stem the tide of criticism from Iran’s conservative bloc, which has been trying to discredit his government ever since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. Both conservatives and moderates in the country have been beefing up the pressure on each other ahead of the upcoming June presidential election this year.
In a press briefing held yesterday, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that the US understood that the talks are just the beginning of what could be a “long road ahead” and added that Washington is “prepared to take the steps necessary to return to compliance with the JCPOA, including by lifting sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki expressed the same sentiment, saying that both the US and Iran would need to take steps to “come back into compliance.”
The landmark agreement was signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5 + 1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) together with the European Union (EU). The deal, which extended sanctions relief to Tehran for significantly reducing its nuclear programme, seeks to prolong Iran’s “breakout capacity”, which is the time required by a country to produce enough highly enriched uranium for one nuclear weapon. However, the previous US administration led by Donald Trump decided to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA in 2018 and re-imposed punitive measures on Iran.
Iran President Rouhani Calls Vienna Talks a “New Chapter” in Restoring JCPOA
Although the US attended the talks in Vienna, it did not directly meet with Iran. Instead, diplomats from other countries held separate meetings with both the US and Iran.
April 8, 2021
SOURCE: IRAN FOREIGN MINISTRY