As US awaits Iran deal response, new Vienna round unlikely
A European Union source said negotiators would only return to the Austrian capital to ink a final agreement.
A deal is taking shape that would revive the landmark Iranian nuclear agreement, but US and Iranian negotiators are unlikely to return to Vienna to hash out their remaining differences, a European Union source told Al-Monitor.
Asked whether further talks could be held to bridge the gaps between the two sides, an EU source said “there will be no new round of any kind. Next time in Vienna will be a ministerial [meeting] to adopt the agreement — if there is an agreement.”
In recent weeks, the United States and Iran have indirectly exchanged views on what the EU described as a “final” proposal to revive the 2015 nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called both the US and Iranian responses “reasonable.”
Last Wednesday, Washington sent the EU, which is mediating the indirect talks, its response to Iran’s initial comments. Tehran says it’s now carefully studying the US feedback, with the semi-official Nournews reporting on Sunday that the Iranian review will take at least until the end of the week.
