TEHRAN (Iran News) – Diplomats from the remaining parties to a landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal have agreed to continue bilateral and multilateral negotiations as well as technical consultations within the next days.
Representatives from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries – Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany – convened another meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Saturday with the purpose of ensuring the United States’ return to the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the lifting of Washington’s sanctions against Tehran.
The participants reviewed the outcomes of the talks held between the sides in recent days and received relevant reports prepared by expert groups.
They also agreed to hold another session of the JCPOA Joint Commission in the future if necessary.
Expert groups of both sides have held technical talks in parallel with the negotiations.
The EU said in a statement earlier on Saturday before the meeting that participants were expected to “take stock of the ongoing 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 JCPOA by all sides.”
The Joint Commission was chaired on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell by the Deputy Secretary General/Political Director of the European External Action Service, Enrique Mora.
Speaking to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) before the beginning of the talks, the Iranian chief nuclear negotiator said the consultations would continue within the framework of working groups as well as mutual and multilateral meetings.
Abbas Araqchi added that the Saturday session of the JCPOA Joint Commission would aim to review the latest developments in nuclear talks, discuss reports prepared by the working groups and make necessary decisions about ways to continue the work, how fast the talks should proceed and issues that need to be settled.
Araqchi, who is also an Iranian deputy foreign minister, said on Thursday that Tehran does not seek protracted negotiations on the fate of the JCPOA, warning that the country would take action if the talks are not constructive.“We are not after talks of attrition and the negotiations that are only time-consuming and aimed at [holding] talks for the sake of talks,” he said.
