Intensive diplomatic efforts in Vienna as sanctions removal talks underway

Iran's lead negotiator to the Vienna talks Ali Bagheri Kani (1st R) and negotiates from the three signatories to the JCPOA meet in the Austrian capital of Vienna, on January 18, 2022. (Photo by IRNA)

Iran and the five remaining parties to the 2015 deal have continued intensive diplomatic talks in the Austrian capital aimed at securing the removal of all sanctions the United States imposed on Tehran following Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the agreement.

As the eighth round of the talks between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries continue in Vienna, chief negotiators from Iran and the three European signatories (E3) to the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the senior EU representative met on Tuesday.

Iran’s lead negotiator to the Vienna talks Ali Bagheri Kani and Enrique Mora, the European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief and head of the JCPOA Joint Commission, as well as representatives of the E3 participated in the meeting. It was also attended by a number of experts from the negotiating sides.

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA — Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — have been holding talks in Vienna since April last year. Iran says it pursues the removal of all sanctions that the United States re-imposed on Iran following its withdrawal from the deal.

Under former US president Donald Trump, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and imposed sanctions primarily targeting the Iranian economy.

The sides resumed diplomatic consultations on Monday after a two-day pause so that the diplomats could return to their respective capitals for consultations. However, the working groups on sanctions removal and sequencing the implementation of a probable agreement continued to work on draft texts on Sunday.

Iran argues that a lack of initiative among the Western parties to the Vienna deal is the main factor slowing down talks with Iran.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) before wrapping up his official visit to Beijing, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed that Tehran has no intention to waste time or derail the sanctions removal talks in the Austrian capital as he criticized the West, particularly the US, for failing to present any innovative proposals in the negotiations.


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