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France Media Agency
The US State Department confirmed sending a representative to Vienna, Rob Malley, for talks with the Europeans, Russians and Chinese, but had not planned to meet with his Iranian counterpart.
The European Union and the signatory states of the international Iranian nuclear agreement concluded in 2015 in the Austrian capital (Iran and the so-called P4 + 1 Group: China, France, Great Britain, Russia and Germany) are meeting in Vienna to prepare for the reintegration of the United States, which left this pact in 2018.
According to US diplomacy spokesman Ned Price, Washington is ready to consider lifting sanctions against Iran, but only those related to the nuclear issue.
“We will certainly not make unilateral gestures or concessions to convince Iran,” Price told reporters.
“The initial wording is that which is still in force today – the limited lifting of nuclear sanctions in exchange for permanent and verifiable limitations on Iran’s nuclear program,” he recalled.
The spokesman for Iranian diplomacy, Saïd Khatibzadeh, for his part clarified that it would in no case be “negotiations”.
“The question of knowing whether (the Iran P4 + 1 meeting) will produce results or not depends (on the capacity) of the Europeans and the 4” 1 to remind the United States of their commitments and of the Americans to respect these same commitments ”, he said at a press conference Monday in Tehran.
The Vienna accord has threatened to be shattered since former US President Donald Trump unilaterally denounced it in 2018.
The text concluded in 2015 in the Austrian capital offers Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for a drastic reduction in its nuclear activities, under UN control, in order to ensure that it does not seek to withdraw. endow the atomic bomb.
But by leaving the agreement, Mr. Trump reimposed all the American sanctions that this pact had allowed to be lifted before further toughening these punitive measures against Tehran.
In response, Iran has gradually freed itself since 2019 from most of its key commitments made in Vienna.
Joe Biden, who took over from Trump in January, says he wants to return to the deal on condition that Iran returns to honoring its commitments. Iran for its part says it is ready to return to strict compliance with the text, but on condition that Washington first lifts its sanctions.
All that is needed is “one measure,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday: “This measure (is) the lifting of all US sanctions, and in return Iran is ready” to return to its roots. commitments.
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