On the brink
The escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran in West Asia has once again brought the region to the brink of conflict.
Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, said Iran has a “serious” demand for the lifting of US sanctions during the new round of Vienna talks, official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
“We have entered the negotiations with a serious will and strong preparation for lifting illegal and oppressive sanctions,” Bagheri Kani told IRNA in Vienna just hours ahead of the beginning of the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Iranian official revealed that he attended meetings in the Austrian capital with some of the participating sides in the meet over the past days, including “useful discussions” with Russian and Chinese delegations, Xinhua news agency reported.
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Asked about the duration of the new round of the talks, Bagheri Kani, also Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said the duration cannot be predicted regularly, but “the future perspective of this round of talks will be discussed by the delegations” at Monday’s meeting and “it is likely that the framework and timing of this round of talks will be determined.”
Nearly six months after the pause in the negotiations over the restoration of the Iranian nuclear accord, Iran and the remaining parties to the deal, with indirect involvement of the US, will resume the talks on Monday in Vienna.
The US government under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019.
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