Iran’s nuclear talks are in the “final phase”; Macro calls for “speeding up” talks / Article

Iran’s nuclear talks are in the “final phase”; Macro calls for ‘speeding up’ talks

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The agreement Iran signed in 2015 with the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, committing to curbing its nuclear program in exchange for easing sanctions, is on the verge of collapse since 2018. The then President of the United States, Donald Trump, then decided that Washington would withdraw from the agreement and renew sanctions against the Iranian economy.

Iran has been in talks with the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany to revive a nuclear deal since last year, but no direct talks have taken place between Washington and Tehran so far.

One week ago, Iran announced for the first time that it was open to direct talks with the United States, which said it was also ready to start direct talks as a matter of urgency. At the moment, however, there are no concrete signs of real US-Iran talks. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in mid-January that the crucial moment in the Vienna talks had come and warned that there were only a few weeks left to save the deal.

Western diplomats have determined that an agreement must be reached by mid-February, so the talks are considered to have entered the final phase. January was the busiest month for the talks, and the climate for talks has improved since December.

The current round of talks in Vienna this week has been suspended and the parties have traveled to their capitals for consultations and instructions.

The European Union has played an important role in mediating these negotiations. According to the head of the bloc delegation Enrike Mora, the representatives will return to the talks in Vienna next week. One Western diplomat explained that progress had been made on key points, including how to re-restrict Iran’s nuclear program, how to lift re-imposed sanctions and, most importantly, how to put these steps back. However, the order in which these points are to be implemented has not been resolved and negotiations are slow.

“These talks are extremely important and progress has not been fast enough. We continue to work closely with our partners, but negotiations are approaching a dangerous stalemate. Iran now has to choose between implementing the agreement or being responsible for its collapse. And if the agreement collapses, there are different scenarios, ”said British Foreign Secretary Lisa Trass.

The talks were discussed by the presidents of France and Iran in a telephone conversation on Sunday. Emanuel Macron, owner of the Elysee Palace, has stressed to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisy the “need to step up” efforts to make progress in Iran’s nuclear talks. Mr Macron emphasized that “Iran needs to show a constructive approach and return to full application of its commitments”. Meanwhile, the Iranian presidential office said in a brief statement after the talks that Tehran had demonstrated its willingness and determination to reach an agreement through negotiations.

Officials are concerned about Iran’s rapid progress in the field of nuclear weapons in recent years, as well as the forthcoming report from the UN Atomic Energy Agency, which will detail Iran’s latest nuclear weapons, which is likely to lead to further disagreements.

The next few weeks are very important in determining whether the agreement will be renewed or broken completely. Representatives of several parties point out that the negotiations have reached a stage where decisive political decisions are needed.

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