TEHRAN – Iran said Sunday its review of the United States’ response to a European-Union drafted text to remove sanctions on the Islamic Republic will take several more days as Qatar continues to mediate between the sides.
Reviewing the U.S. response at expert levels is ongoing and will take “at least” until the end of the week, Nournews, an outlet affiliated with the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said in a tweet.
“The detailed examination of America’s responses to Iran’s amended pivots regarding the European Union’s coordinating points is still ongoing at expert levels, and this process will continue at least until the end of this week,” it said.
The working week in Iran ends on Friday, so a response appears unlikely before September 2.
Iran had sent its response to the European text earlier this month, and Washington submitted its own feedback to the text on Wednesday, more than a week after the Iranian response.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has described Iran’s response as “reasonable”, and said he plans to organize more meetings in Vienna to finalize an agreement if possible.
Meanwhile, Qatar – which hosted a two-day round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington mediated by the EU in late June – has continued to mediate and relay messages between the sides.
According to the Qatari foreign ministry, Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Muhammad bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi met with Iran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani in Tehran on Saturday to discuss the talks.
Al-Khulaifi “stressed the importance of advancing further in order to revive the nuclear agreement which is in the interest of the security and stability of the region”, a foreign ministry statement said.
The Qatari official then had a phone call with the EU’s Enrique Mora, who acts as the coordinator for the nuclear talks.
Iran did not report or comment on the meeting with the Qatari official.
The U.S. unilaterally abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is formally known, in 2018 and imposed inhuman sanctions that are currently in effect.
In response, Iran ramped up its nuclear program to its most advanced stages ever, but it has maintained that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon.
If an agreement is reached, hundreds of sanctions are expected to be removed, and Tehran is expected to once more agree to curbs on its nuclear program, including on enrichment and stockpiles of uranium.
Iranian and American officials have not officially commented on the specifics of the negotiations, but some outstanding issues are believed to have remained unresolved.
One key sticking point relates to Iran’s demands for guarantees it will enjoy the economic benefits it was promised under the original deal.