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Iran nuclear talks to resume next week

Meetings on the Iran nuclear agreement will continue in Vienna as Iran continues its demand for "Trump sanctions" to be removed.

Chinese diplomat Wang Qun in Vienna
The ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations in Vienna, Wang Qun, speaks to journalists in front of the Grand Hotel Wien after closed-door nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna on April 9, 2021, where diplomats of the EU, China, Russia and Iran held their talks. — JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal will continue next week. There has been some progress made between Iran and the United States through intermediaries, though an agreement is not imminent. 

The European Union announced Friday that meetings on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will reconvene in Vienna next week. Representatives of the signatory countries of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Iran and China will participate again in the EU-chaired meetings. This group will continue separate talks with the United States on the JCPOA, the EU said in a statement. 

The JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, removed sanctions on Iran in exchange for cooperation on its nuclear program. The United States left the agreement under President Donald Trump in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. The administration of President Joe Biden is holding indirect talks with Iran in Vienna at present through intermediaries of the countries that remain party to the agreement.

Tehran stopped complying with the JCPOA’s stipulations following the US withdrawal and wants sanctions removed before Iran returns to compliance. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday that the Trump sanctions must go before Tehran returns to compliance. 

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