Iran nuclear talks hit snag over sanctions
Lifting US sanctions, as called for in the Joint Plan of Action, would eventually require dealing with Hezbollah.
Laura Rozen reports this week that top Iran and EU diplomats may meet in coming days in Turkey to address a snag in negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
While Rozen described diplomats on both sides at the nuclear talks in Vienna on May 14 as “taken aback” by the other sides' positions, Iranian officials nonetheless sought to maintain a positive spin on the prospects for a deal.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on May 21, “Today, the nuclear negotiation is progressing and is on the threshold of reaching a conclusion," and called for the parties to stop making excuses.
Former lead nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, a conservative and close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on May 22, “We should permit the (Iranian) nuclear negotiation team to proceed with its programs in the framework of (the Supreme Leader’s proposed) 'heroic lenience' and we should all assist them in their bid to materialize the nation’s rights.”
