Nov 4,2021:Iran has said it will resume multilateral talks on November 29 in Austria’s capital, Vienna, aimed at reviving the country’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who became Tehran’s chief negotiator in mid-September, said on Wednesday the date was set in a phone call with European Union mediator Enrique Mora.
“We agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful and inhumane sanctions on 29 November in Vienna,” Bagheri said on Twitter, referring to the measures the United States has imposed on Iran since its unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action (JCPOA) in May 2018.
Six rounds of talks with the remaining parties to the deal – China, Russia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom – in Vienna, with the US participating indirectly, concluded in late June to allow the administration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to take form.
The European Union also confirmed the news about the resumption of talks and said the negotiations would be chaired by Mora on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
“Participants will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides,” said the EU’s European External Action Service in a statement, which added that the remaining JCPOA signatories would be represented.
In April, Tehran and six powers started to discuss ways to salvage the nuclear pact, which has eroded since 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it and reimposed punishing sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to breach various limits on uranium enrichment set by the pact.
But the talks have been on hold since the election of Raisi, whose administrations is expected to take a tough approach when the talks resume.
For its part, the US said it could reach an agreement quickly if Iran was “serious” as it announced the resumption of indirect negotiations.
