TEHRAN -- Sources close to the Iranian delegation in Vienna talks on the removal of anti-Iran sanctions have rejected rumors about the presence of a high-ranking Iranian official in the talks, noting that the country’s top negotiator has enough prerogative in the negotiations.
The rebuttal by Nour News which is affiliated to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council came after an American journalist claimed that the Iranian delegation was hosting “someone senior from Tehran” in Vienna.
“Fwiw, a Vienna contact who lives near the Iranian ambassador residence told me yest: There is a lot going on there suddenly. Plenty of secret agents; the lights on all night. Assume they are hosting someone senior from Tehran. Has never been like that since the talks re-started,” Laura Rozen tweeted.
The claim by the Politico columnist was followed by a range of other news data-x-items circulating in the social media that Muhammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), was likely to travel to Vienna to provide expert advice to the negotiating team.
A close source to the Iranian delegation in the Vienna talks dismissed the reports, saying that there was no need for any new senior or high-level official.
“To clarify on this, I asked a source close to #Iran negotiating team. He said, “Funny! No need for any new senior or high-level Iranian official to attend the Vienna talks. Iranian chief negotiator @Bagheri_Kani has the needed mandate & is fully authorized for the talks,” Abbas Aslani, an Iranian political journalist, tweeted.
In recent days, Western media have tried to insinuate a sense of urgency in the negotiations and suggested illusory deadlines, claiming that the negotiating sides faced a closing window for reaching a potential deal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday

there was still a long way to go before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCOPA), which is on life support since the U.S. withdrawal in 2018, could be revived.
Talks between Iran and the remaining signatories resumed on Tuesday after a 10-day break, but envoys gave little away as to whether they were closer to resolving various thorny issues.
On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said the talks would conclude once the West showed determination to remove all sanctions imposed against Tehran.
He made the remarks in an address to a group of foreign ambassadors to the Islamic Republic on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
“Today in Vienna, the United States and the Western parties are faced with a test to show to the world how they behave,” the top diplomat said.
“The conclusion of the negotiations will be determined by the Western side’s resolve to remain fully committed to the removal of sanctions and return of all sides to their commitments,” he added.
Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic pursues the development of bilateral relations with other countries on the basis of common and equal interests, noting that the Iranian administration attaches special importance to developing regional and international cooperation.
The foreign minister also said while “our colleagues in Vienna are negotiating the removal of brutal sanctions, the Iranian nation has historically shown that it responds to dignity with dignity and threat with resistance, resilience and corresponding language”.
Amir-Abdollahian renewed Iran’s outreach to its friends and neighbors, saying the Islamic Republic seeks to develop mutual relations on the basis of shared and equal interests, with the current administration attaching special importance to regional and international cooperation.