Progress has been reported in Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna, with the Iranian side saying the United States will lift oil and financial sanctions imposed on Iran.
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi was quoted by Iranian state media after the latest round of talks as saying, “Sanctions on Iran’s energy industry, including oil and gas, or those on the auto industry, finance, banks and ports, should be lifted in line with the agreement reached so far. “
Araghchi did not explain the method or timing of the lifting of those sanctions. The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment on Araghchi’s words, Reuters said.
Diplomats from the five countries negotiating with Iranian representatives cautioned that more work needs to be done to agree on a U.S. return to the Iran nuclear deal.
In a statement, senior diplomats from France, Britain and Germany said, “We have a lot of work to do and very little time left. Given this background, we would have liked to have made more progress this week.”
But Russia’s chief negotiator, Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted that “undeniable progress” had been made and expressed cautious optimism that a deal could soon be finalized.
It is too early to be excited, but there is reason for caution and growing optimism,” Ulyanov said in a tweet. There is no deadline, but the participating parties plan to successfully conclude negotiations in about three weeks.”
The Vienna talks, which began in early April, aim to revive the nuclear deal signed between Iran and major powers in 2015 and bring the United States back into the agreement in exchange for Tehran’s return to all of its obligations under the Iran nuclear deal, while securing the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
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