Signs of Thaw on Iran Nuclear Standoff Emerge in Vienna Talks

Article content

(Bloomberg) — World powers working to end the standoff between Iran and the U.S. are due to reconvene Sunday amid signs of a thaw that may lead to a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal and reduce tensions in the energy-rich Persian Gulf.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday a “new understanding” was taking shape at the talks in Vienna and that his country would start work on a full draft text for negotiators to discuss. While the U.S. hasn’t yet responded, the European Union and Russia echoed his optimism without suggesting a breakthrough was imminent.

The remarks inject new hope into a process rocked last week by an attack on an Iranian nuclear facility that prompted the Islamic Republic to enrich uranium at levels nearer to weapons grade. The incident, which Iran blamed on Israel, was the latest in a series of flashpoints in the region that have included assassinations, attacks on energy installations and tanker seizures.

The nuclear deal, which imposed strict limits on Iran’s atomic activity in exchange for sanctions relief, was a signature achievement of the Obama administration. Abandonment of the accord in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump and the reimposition of sanctions have kept relations between the longstanding foes close to breaking point.

Article content

“The drafting of the text can begin now, and the Iranian delegation has prepared and presented its text on the nuclear sphere and the lifting of sanctions,” Araghchi told Iranian state TV, cautioning that serious disagreements remained.

The talks underscore Washington’s changed stance toward Iran since Joe Biden entered the White House earlier this year. The U.S. president has pledged to return his country to the 2015 accord, but the administration has been reluctant to make any grand gestures or agree to remove sanctions all at once, something Iran insists Washington must do as the party that first violated the deal.

In an apparent further sign of easing tension, the Financial Times reported Sunday that senior officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran have been holding talks to repair relations. The newspaper cited three unidentified officials. The meeting in Baghdad on April 9 included discussions about recent attacks and would be followed by another round of talks next week, it said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on Saturday that Iran has started the process of enriching uranium to 60%, an important step closer to weapons grade of 80% to 90%. Iran insists that the uranium will be used for medical purposes only. Biden criticized the move, saying it was contrary to the agreement, but said it wouldn’t derail the Vienna talks.

The Islamic republic began in 2019 to gradually increase its atomic activity — beyond the limit of 3.67% allowed in the deal — in response to Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” strategy.

Article content

“The reality is that the alternative to reviving the nuclear deal is not attractive for either side,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. “But a lot of hard work remains, including on figuring out how to sequence the implementation of the measures and their verification.”

Earlier this week, Araghchi said that Washington and Tehran had to specify the steps they would each need to take in order to restore the 2015 deal, including a tally of all Trump-era sanctions that Iran says the U.S. would need to remove.

The European Union and Russia, which along with China are trying help the U.S. and Iran choreograph the restoration of the deal and full compliance to its terms, encouraged both sides to double down on efforts to reach an agreement.

Enrique Mora, who’s leading the talks on behalf of the EU, tweeted that the discussions had been “intensive,” and that “progress has been made in a far from easy task.” The group now needs to focus on more detailed work, he added without elaborating.

It was “key” that all the parties are committed to seeing the U.S. rejoin the accord and that it’s fully implemented by both Washington and Tehran, Mora said.

Russia’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the countries would continue working over the weekend and into next week as they agreed to “not waste time” and reach a successful outcome “as soon as possible.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg.com