Iran top negotiator: We need to have a good deal to address our key concerns, meet our key objectives

Iran’s top negotiator in the Vienna talks on the revival of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers says the Iranian delegation seeks a good deal that would address the Islamic Republic’s key concerns and will continue negotiations until such a deal is reached.

 “We need to have a good deal and a good deal is when our key concerns are addressed and our key objectives are met without which we don’t have a deal,” Abbas Araghchi, who is also Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, told Press TV in an exclusive interview after Iran and the P4+1 group of countries ended the first day of the 6^th round of their talks on Saturday.

“And we continue negotiations as much as needed without wasting our time or without letting anybody else waste our time. We continue negotiations, we are not in a hurry. We don’t have any deadline for ourselves,” he added.

Araghchi noted that the important point for Iran is to reach a deal, which would address Iran’s “key requirements and positions” already announced by Iran’s delegates.

“There are many technicalities to be resolved and we decided today to continue our discussion, [and] our talks very intensively at both political and expert levels.... I think all questions are able to be resolved, if the other side can make ... their decisions, especially on difficult issues,” Iran’s top negotiator said.

Araghchi noted that "Iran has already made its difficult decision when it decided to stay in the deal, after the US’ illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA."

"Now it is the time for the other sides. If they want to return to the JCPOA, [and] if they want the Islamic Republic of Iran to return to full implementation of its commitments in the JCPOA, they have to make their difficult decisions and they have to make sure, this is very important, they have to assure the Islamic Republic of Iran that what happened in the past is not going to be repeated in the future.”

The top Iranian diplomat had earlier said that it is unlikely that the Vienna talks would be concluded this week.

Iran: Vienna talks on JCPOA revival unlikely to conclude this week

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator predicts that talks in Vienna between Tehran and other countries on a potential revival of the 2015 nuclear accord are unlikely to conclude this week.

In a tweet on Saturday, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said senior diplomats from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries “reiterated their determination to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion” as soon as possible.

In Vienna, all parties determined to reach successful conclusion but quality comes first: Russia envoy

Russia says all participants at the Vienna talks are determined to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion but quality comes first.

Ulyanov, who is the head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks, emphasized that "all of us want to do it ASAP, but the quality of an outcome document comes first."

He added, in another tweet that "we can’t expect the finalisation of the #ViennaTalks in the days to come.... Nevertheless an agreement is within reach."

Since April, representatives from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries have been holding talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and bringing the US back to compliance with the accord.

On behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the meetings are chaired by Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora.

The US has sent a delegation to Vienna but it is not attending the JCPOA Joint Commission talks directly as Washington is no longer a party to the deal. It has, however, held separate talks with the other parties except Iran.

The US, under former president Donald Trump, left the JCPOA in 2018 and returned the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

President Joe Biden has said Washington is willing to return to the pact if Tehran first suspends its countermeasures taken in response to US violations and reimpostion of sanctions.

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