Robert Malley: Vienna talks to begin this week
The US special envoy for Iran said diplomats will return to Vienna this week to resume talks to revive the nuclear deal with Iran. The eighth round of talks was suspended about a week ago.
On Sunday night, February 6, Robert Malley, the US government's special envoy for Iran, said in an interview with MSNBC that negotiations to return to the JCPOA with Iran would resume this week.
"President Biden still wants us to move forward with the negotiations in Vienna," Mali said, according to Reuters.
The eighth round of negotiations to return to the JCPOA between Iran and China, Russia, Germany, Britain, and France, with the indirect presence of the United States, began in Vienna on December 27. The European Union issued a statement on January 28 that this round of negotiations had been suspended and that the country's representatives would return to their capitals to receive instructions.
Robert Malley said about the continuation of the negotiations this week: "We will meet again next week and this is a sign that we still believe that the nuclear agreement is not dead and we must re-implement it because our interests are in it."
Reuters attempted to speak to a US State Department spokesman to confirm the date for the resumption of the Vienna talks, but he was not available.
A European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the talks are likely to resume in Vienna on Tuesday, January 8, with high-ranking US representatives holding indirect talks with representatives of the Islamic Republic.
Diplomats and analysts say the longer these negotiations drag on and the longer Iran remains outside the JCPOA, the shorter the time it will take for the Islamic Republic to gain the ability to build a nuclear bomb. The goal of the negotiations is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, although the Islamic Republic says it has no such plan.
The US government restored some sanctions waivers for Iran on Friday evening, February 4. In a report to Congress, the US State Department cited the reason for restoring these waivers as the US-Iranian indirect talks to revive the JCPOA entering their final stages, and stated that the purpose of lifting the sanctions was to encourage Iran to re-commit to the agreement.
The waivers lift sanctions on countries and international companies involved in Iran's civilian nuclear activities. A US State Department official said the move was not a signal from Washington to reach a deal with Iran.
The US move has been welcomed by the Vienna negotiating partners and met with a cold and cautious response from Iran. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on Twitter: "Real, effective and verifiable economic benefits for Iran are a necessary condition for the formation of an agreement. Showing off the lifting of sanctions is not considered a constructive move."
Source: DW
