One week into the marathon talks underway in Vienna between the the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) and Iran, speculation has started to emerge as to what a comprehensive agreement on the long-outstanding nuclear issue would entail in terms of obligations and concessions for Tehran, with the issue of sanctions being one of the sticking points in the negotiations.
In the past days, the two sides seem to have agreed that, in exchange for verifiable curbs on the Iranian nuclear program, phased, comprehensive sanctions relief would be part of a long-term agreement. The deal would progressively unwind the complex and multilayered legislation imposed against Tehran, comprising UN Security Council resolutions as well as US and EU sanctions. While details on the order and nature of the sanctions relief measures are still unknown and subject to technical discussions, the Iranian authorities would like to see the sanctions lifted sooner rather than later, considering the tremendous impact they had on the Iranian economy.
