Negotiations between Iran and world powers on salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal are “nearing the end,” the talks’ coordinator said on Tuesday, adding that the outcome of the negotiations is “still uncertain.”
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The nuclear talks “are at a crucial moment. We are nearing the end after ten months of negotiations. The result is still uncertain,” Enrique Mora of the European Union said in a Twitter post.
“Key issues need to be fixed. But all delegations are fully engaged. Intense work in Coburg,” Mora added, referring to the hotel in Vienna where talks between the remaining signatories to the 2015 deal – Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain – are currently taking place.
The US is participating indirectly in the talks due to Iran’s refusal to negotiate directly with Washington.
Western officials have for months warned that there are only weeks left to save the deal. Their primary concern is that the agreement would soon become obsolete due to Iran’s nuclear advances.
The Vienna talks, which began in April 2021, aim to bring Iran back into compliance with the deal and facilitate a US return to the agreement. The deal offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping sanctions on Tehran.
Iran began breaching the deal’s restrictions following the US’ withdrawal from the deal. Tehran has since started enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity – a big step closer to the 90 percent required for weapons-grade material.
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