A square of tables in a living room all in gilding and mirrors of the Coburg Palace: the negotiations intended to try to save the agreement on the Iranian nuclear power resumed, Monday, November 29, in the hushed atmosphere of a Viennese palace. The Iranian delegation, expected for five months, was present alongside the French, German, British, Russian and Chinese negotiators.
Only the Americans were missing in the room, with whom the Iranians do not want to speak directly. It is their return to the agreement denounced by the former President of the United States Donald Trump three years ago that it is necessary to organize. His successor, Joe Biden, made saving the 2015 compromise a priority, before the first talks in this direction, in the spring, were suspended due to the presidential election in Iran.
The eagerly awaited reunion allowed us to get straight to the heart of the matter. While the prognosis is unfavorable as to the survival of the nuclear agreement, everyone wanted to be proactive. “I am extremely satisfied with what I saw today”, said European Union coordinator Enrique Mora, after the first hours of discussions. According to him, the Iranians “Accepted that the work carried out during the first six cycles constitutes a good basis for building our work to come”. One way of giving guarantees to Western delegations, who want to resume negotiations where they had been suspended, without expanding them further.
For their part, Iranian representatives immediately demanded the lifting of sanctions imposed by the Americans since their withdrawal from the agreement, whether or not they were linked to the nuclear program. An unacceptable condition for the Biden administration, even if it was agreed to continue discussions on the subject. “The fact that all parties present at the meeting accepted Iran’s request that the issue of illegal and unjust sanctions imposed by the United States be first resolved,” (…) constitutes a major step forward ”, Ali Bagheri Kani, however, assured.
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The Iranian chief negotiator also asked for a guarantee that the United States will never come out of a new arrangement again. Tehran still demands compensation from Washington for the breach of the original agreement and a verification period to be able to ensure that Iran manages to benefit from the economic benefits of a possible compromise, before complying with its commitments .
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