Iran’s Rohani Says N-Talks 60% Done after Vienna Meet

Iran’s President Hassan Rohani said negotiations on how to the revive the 2015 nuclear deal were 60% to 70% complete and could be resolved quickly if the U.S. acts with “honesty,” according to a statement on his official website.

World powers including China, Russia and the European Union on Tuesday concluded their latest round of talks in Vienna aimed at returning the U.S. to the accord that then-President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, and rolling back Iran’s atomic activity to within the agreement’s limits.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, struck a more cautious note earlier in the day, saying that while talks were “on the right track,” challenges remained. Delegates will next week focus on sequencing, or how the U.S. and Iran will choreograph the steps they need to take to fully restore the deal, he said.

The crisis over Iran’s nuclear program has convulsed the Persian Gulf ever since Trump withdrew and reimposed American sanctions on the Islamic Republic, fueling proxy conflicts and leading to a spate of attacks on shipping. It escalated last week as Tehran began enriching uranium closer to weapons grade after an unclaimed attack on its top nuclear facility.

The U.S. hasn’t commented on the Iranian statements. The EU’s lead mediator, Enrique Mora, said in a tweet that while progress had been made there was “much more hard work needed.”

Rohani said that while Iran was in “no hurry” to revive the deal, his government wanted to make the most of the opportunity. - Bloomberg