VIENNA: Top diplomats said Sunday further progress had been made at talks between Iran and global powers to try to negotiate and restore a landmark 2015 agreement to contain Iranian nuclear development that was later abandoned by the Trump administration.
They said it was now up to the governments involved in the negotiations to make political decisions.
It was the first official meeting since Iran’s hardline judiciary chief won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election last week. Some diplomats expressed concern that Iran’s election of Ebrahim Raisi as president could complicate a possible return to the agreement.
Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired the final meeting of the sixth round of talks between Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and Iran, told reporters that “we are closer to a deal, but we are not still there.” “We have made progress on a number of technical issues,” Mora added.
Top Russian representative Mikhail Ulyanov said the members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “took stock of the significant progress made at the Vienna talks, including at the sixth round, and decided to make a break to allow participants to consult with their capitals in preparation for what is supposed to be the final round of negotiations.”