VIENNA (Dispatches) – Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi says he is not confident yet whether current talks underway in Vienna to bring the U.S. back to compliance with the nuclear deal would bear fruit.
Araghchi made the remarks in an interview with Press TV after the fifth round of talks between Iran and the remaining signatories — Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — in the Austrian capital.
He said despite progress made on some key differences over reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he still cannot say whether the U.S. would return to compliance.
“In the last round, we were able to make some meaningful progress in our negotiations but still there are some key issues to be resolved,” Araghchi said.
“I cannot say that we are able to conclude our job in this round of negotiations but this is possible; it depends on how much we are able to make progress on key issues and how much the other parties are prepared to make their own difficult decisions,” the Iranian deputy foreign minister said. “I am not confident that it would be possible to conclude the negotiations but there is a possibility.”
Araqchi met with Enrique Mora, the deputy of European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who chaired the Vienna meeting, and also the Russian delegation to the talks.
On Tuesday, Government spokesman Ali Rabei had said that the parties had reached preliminary agreements on how to revive the deal, but fundamental steps had to be taken by Washington to reach the goal.
“Small differences remain — over which negotiations will continue until final results are achieved,” he told a news conference.