US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that his country is ready to lift any sanctions imposed on Iran that are inconsistent with the nuclear agreement, stressing Washington’s readiness to take the necessary steps to return to compliance with the terms of the agreement.
The US State Department said that the Iranian nuclear talks will be difficult for several reasons; Including the lack of confidence between Tehran and Washington, expressing its hope for reaching a mutual commitment to the nuclear agreement.
A US State Department spokesman revealed that the US team consulted in Vienna with its Russian and European counterparts.
For her part, White House spokeswoman Jane Saki described, on Wednesday, the ongoing talks with Iran regarding re-accession to the 2015 nuclear deal as an early constructive step, but she will not provide a timetable for any decisions.
The United States and Iran are holding indirect talks this week in Vienna about returning to the deal.
The Vienna Meetings
Meetings of the Joint Working Committee for the Nuclear Agreement under the auspices of the European Union and the participation of the United States for the first time since the arrival of President Joe Biden’s administration to the White House are continuing in Vienna.
The meeting was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany, and Iran, in addition to the United States. On the agenda was the return of the United States to the nuclear agreement, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and Tehran’s retreat from the measures it had taken to reduce its nuclear commitments.
In Tehran, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said – in a press briefing yesterday morning – that his country had received several proposals regarding lifting US sanctions through the “4 + 1” group (China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany).
Rabiei stressed the need for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement before any proposal is put forward to negotiate with Tehran, and he stressed that his country is ready to return to all its nuclear commitments if the United States lifted all sanctions, and at the same time ruled out any form of negotiation between the Iranian and American delegations in Vienna.
The Iranian spokesman said that the position of the US envoy on the Iranian file, Robert Malley, who believes that the sanctions should be lifted, is “positive to reform the diplomatic track.”
Delay
Meanwhile, 3 diplomatic sources said that talks scheduled to be held between the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations and Iran had been postponed to obtain answers from Tehran regarding finding “unjustified” traces of uranium in some sites.
This narrows the chances of achieving progress in rapprochement with the West, or threatens to undermine the steps that have been taken in this regard.
A European diplomatic source said that “the start date in April has been postponed for several weeks, which may be at least two weeks,” adding that the reason for the delay is technical.
Two other diplomats also said that the start of the talks had been postponed, and one indicated that the IAEA delegation would be headed by chief inspector Massimo Abaro.
When asked about the delay, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency said, “The date has been confirmed in April.” Iranian officials have not yet responded to requests for comment.
