Indirect Talks on Iran N-Deal in 'Unclear Place': US National Security Adviser

World powers are working to restore their nuclear agreement with Iran by the middle of May, before a key monitoring deal expires, with talks now in their third week bogged down over which sanctions the U.S. intends to lift. Two European officials involved in mediating the process confirmed the target date, asking not be identified because of the sensitivity of the negotiations in Vienna. Though the U.S. and Iran have made headway, there’s still a long way to go before an understanding is reached, they said.

Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran on a return to compliance to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are in “an unclear place,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday. Sullivan’s comments followed the start this week of a third round of the talks in Vienna in which representatives of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and European Union shuttle between U.S. and Iranian delegations. “I’m not going to characterize the substance of the negotiations at this point because they are in ... an unclear place,” Sullivan told an Aspen Security Forum webinar. “We’ve seen willingness of all sides, including the Iranians, to talk seriously about sanctions relief restrictions and a pathway back into the JCPOA.” The acronym refers to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal’s title. “But it is still uncertain as to whether this will culminate in a deal in Vienna,” he said.

The agreement limited Iran’s nuclear program to block the development of nuclear weapons. In return, Iran received relief from U.S. and international sanctions. Former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018, re-imposing and adding U.S. sanctions. In response, Tehran began breaching JCPOA restrictions. President Joe Biden has pledged to return to the deal. Iran refused direct talks on resuming compliance in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions. Sullivan was asked whether the Iranians are negotiating in good faith.

“I guess good faith is always in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “The Iranians have come in a serious way to have serious discussions about details and the teams are working through those details now.” The main differences are over what U.S. sanctions will need to end, the steps Iran must take to resume its obligations to restrict its nuclear program and how to sequence the process.

Negotiations have become more urgent as the clock ticks toward May 22, a deadline agreed by Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency that’s central to efforts to ensure Iran isn’t hiding uranium enrichment work.

The sides made a deal in February that permits IAEA cameras installed at key facilities to record activities. Inspectors will only gain access to the material if an accord is reached in the Austrian capital. Otherwise, Iran says it will erase the material.

European nations are advocating for a return to the original agreement, without attempting to expand the dialog to include regional security issues. One of the officials said the aim was to wrap up a deal at least several days before May 22.

That’s ambitious, according to a person close to U.S. State Department officials, who said an agreement by mid-June is more likely. Thorny issues include sanctions the U.S. wants to keep, addressing knowledge Iran has gained through its recent enrichment activities, and how to verify compliance, the person said.

In an April 21 briefing, a State Department official said the U.S. aimed to move as fast as it could but not at the expense of striking an inferior deal. The key issue remained how both countries would return to full compliance with the 2015 accord, the official said.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday, the head of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said he’s worried Iran will destroy the camera data if an agreement isn’t reached in time, adding “let’s hope it hasn’t happened.”

If the sides miss the monitoring deadline and talks “head nowhere,” Grossi said he’d return to Tehran to try to broker another compromise.- Reuters, Bloomberg