A senior European diplomat said, on Tuesday, that he believed that international negotiations with Iran would eventually succeed in re-imposing restrictions on its nuclear program, but indicated that more time may be needed.
Enrique Mora, who is coordinating the talks in Vienna, said progress had been made in overcoming major obstacles in the talks.
“The obstacles … are something that I think can be bridged,” Mora told reporters outside the hotel where Iranian officials met envoys from Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain.
“That’s why we’re here: to negotiate these different approaches, and I think we’ll succeed.”
A landmark deal in 2015 imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for relief from US sanctions, but the previous Trump administration largely abandoned the deal three years later.
US President Joe Biden, along with European allies, is keen to revive the deal over concerns that Iran has made significant progress since it stopped complying with 2015 commitments.
a joint statement Issued by the United States and the European Union after Biden’s meetings this week with leaders in Europe described the Vienna process as “critical to ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and supporting the global architecture for non-proliferation.”
She said the two sides “share serious concerns” about Iran’s progress on the nuclear program while acknowledging that “the lifting of sanctions is an essential part” of a potential deal.
The United States is not participating in the Vienna talks but has sent a high-ranking diplomatic delegation to the Austrian capital to discuss the issue with several participating envoys, including Russian officials.
Iran’s nuclear negotiations have achieved some consensus between Moscow and Washington despite recent years of tension, and are likely to be discussed at Wednesday’s summit meeting in Geneva between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. ___
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