Deputy EU Foreign Policy Chief Enrique Mora said that the Vienna talks will have a one-week pause, stating that currently, political decisions are needed.

While Mohammad�Marandi, a member of the Iranian negotiating, is describing the Vienna talks'�atmosphere as positive, the delegations are going to have a short break.

"The new round of the Vienna Talks JCPOA, which started 27 December, so far the longest, takes a break. Participants will go back to their capitals for consultations and instructions to come back next week. Political decisions are needed now.",�Mora on Friday wrote�in a tweet.

"The delegations of Iran, China and Russia met to compare notes right before the announced break at the Vienna talks on the restoration of JCPOA.",�Russia�s permanent�representative�to Vienna-based International Organizations�Mikhail Ulyanov announced in a tweet on the same day.

Rejecting to be in line with the US and European positions against Iran, China and Russia have repeatedly blamed the United States for the current situation around JCPOA�and stressed the need to lift all unilateral sanctions against Iran in order to pave the road for�the agreement to be fully implemented.�The two countries�consider US unilateral sanctions illegal.

Recently, Ulyanov has announced that the talks are being held at advanced levels.

An informed source on Friday also described the negotiation process as generally constructive, stating that If the parties make the necessary decisions after returning from the capitals, a faster move towards reaching an agreement would be possible.

Earlier, Marandi�made the remarks on the talks, saying�that it's still too soon to say whether or not there will be a deal as it's up to the other side, saying that if they want a deal then there can be one within a few weeks because it's up to their willingness to fully implement the deal, accept verification measures, and provide a commitment not to breach it again.

The US and EU have grown increasingly realistic, Marandi added.

The 2015 deal, more formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council � the US, the UK, China, Russia, and France � plus Germany and the EU. Despite the International Atomic Energy Agency's acknowledgment of Iran's adherence to all of its obligations, the US government unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in May 2018.

The US government has imposed sanctions under various pretexts in line with its hostile goals against Iran and the advancement of its economic war against Iran.

Amid the indifference of the JCPOA parties toward continued US violations of the JCPOA and inaction of the European sides, in December 2020, the Iranian Parliament passed the Law on "Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions and Protect Rights of the People" that prompted the Iranian administration to restrict the IAEA�s inspections and accelerate the development of the country�s nuclear program beyond the limits set by the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

The current US administration has not yet fulfilled the promises Joe Biden made during his presidential elections campaigns to undo Trump's actions and return to the deal. In the meantime, Tehran has also stressed that the Biden administration's return to the agreement without lifting the sanctions is not important at all.

Vienna talks on the removal of anti-Iranian sanctions are underway in the Austrian capital of Vienna with the participation of Iranian delegations and P4 + 1 group of countries including the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany.

The US delegation is also in Vienna but it is not directly talking to the Iranian negotiating team.

As Iranian officials have stated, the points requested by Iran and the United States will be transferred through Non-Paper.

Iran says the US sanctions need to be removed in a verifiable manner. It also says Washington should provide guarantees that it will not pull out again.

 

By MEHR