Iran's top negotiator says 'optimistic' about agreement in 'very serious' Vienna talks

Iran’s lead negotiator in Vienna talks on the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran says the general atmosphere in the ongoing negotiations in the Austrian capital is very serious, adding that he is optimistic that a final agreement would be reached.

“The atmosphere in negotiations is very serious and this atmosphere has governed the talks since we arrived here ... but at the same time, there is mutual respect and the overall view is that both sides want to clinch an agreement,” Ali Bagheri Kani said in an interview with Iran’s IRIB on Sunday.

He added that Iran and the five remaining signatories to the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are holding talks on a host of issues during the seventh round of the Vienna negotiations, and have reached agreements on some of them, though a comprehensive agreement has not yet reached on many issues.

"For example, when it comes to Iran's nuclear activities, an agreement has been forged between the two sides on some of [outstanding] issues, but there are other issues in this area...which still remain to be agreed upon and negotiations on those issues will continue," said Bagheri Kani, who also serves as deputy foreign minister for political affairs.

Asked whether the negotiating sides would reach a deal, he said, "There are two sides to any negotiation and agreement, and certain conditions should exist on both sides for talks to progress ... and end in a result and an agreement."

Iran's lead negotiator added that the opposite side's views, priorities, negotiating approach, seriousness and readiness to reach an agreement also determine whether the negotiations would succeed and whether the negotiating sides would reach an agreement more quickly or not.

"I am optimistic about reaching an agreement, but given the unpleasant memory that our people have of the opposite side, we will certainly not take anything easy," Bagheri Kani emphasized.

The JCPOA was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump in May 2018. Trump then targeted Iran’s economy with what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign, which failed to compel Iran to negotiate a “new deal.”

Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China -- began the talks in the Austrian capital in April with the aim of removing the sanctions after the US, under President Joe Biden, voiced its willingness to return to the agreement.

During the seventh round of the Vienna talks, the first under President Ebrahim Raeisi, Iran presented two draft texts which address, separately, the removal of US sanctions and Iran’s return to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA. Tehran also said it was preparing a third draft text on the verification of the sanctions removal.

Prior to and in the midst of the fresh round of talks, American and European diplomats voiced strong pessimism about the prospects of the talks, claiming Iran was not serious.

The Americans, in the meantime, have said they will not remove all the sanctions that they slapped on Iran after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. They have also declined to provide guarantees that the US will not leave the JCPOA again, once it is accepted back into the deal.

The Iranian chief negotiator in Vienna talks on Friday once again reaffirmed the Islamic Republic's determination to reach a deal with the P4+1 group of countries on the removal of sanctions during the ongoing negotiations in the Austrian capital, saying "dishonest reports" from outside the negotiating room will fail to have any impact on Tehran's will.

'Dishonest reports' won't weaken Iran's will to secure nation's rights: Chief negotiator in Vienna talks

Iran’s chief negotiator to Vienna talks says dishonest reports from outside the negotiating room will fail to have any impact on Tehran’s will to reach a deal securing the Iranian nation’s rights and interests.

"Dishonest reports from outside negotiating room won't weaken our will to reach a deal securing our nation's rights & interests," Bagheri Kani said in a post on his Twitter account.

Russia: Outstanding issues being addressed properly in Vienna talks

Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, said in a Sunday tweet that the Vienna talks are underway and several meetings will be held later today.

Mikhail Ulyanov added that during new talks, “numerous outstanding issues still remain on the agenda,” adding, however, that those issues are being “addressed properly in accordance with norms and rules of multilateral diplomacy.”

He noted in a later tweet that the initial agreement among participants in Vienna talks was actually reached before their very start.

“The initial agreement was reached before the start of the #ViennaTalks, when #JCPOA participants and #US agreed to restore the nuclear deal.”

Ulyanov also noted that it was still too early to talk about the eventuality of the seventh round of Vienna talks.

Ulyanov had already rejected claims by “some analysts and journalists” that the Vienna talks had hit a deadlock.

“To my surprise some analysts and journalists describe the situation at the #ViennaTalks as dramatic, 'almost deadlock'. This is not the case in point.”

He added, “After the break, the negotiators returned to normal diplomatic business and maintain intensive dialogue. Atmosphere is positive.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that all participants in the Vienna talks once again have expressed determination to put maximum effort in restoring the JCPOA in its original form, adding, "All sides reaffirmed their intention to pay maximum effort with the goal of finally defining practical steps, needed to re-launch the extensive implementation of JCPOA in its initial form, without additions or deletions."

It noted that Iran and the P4+1 group of countries decided to continue intense contacts, including at the level of experts, within the framework of working groups on the removal of US sanctions and nuclear issues.

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