Iran Hints Nuclear Talks May Not Resume Until November

Iran’s new government may not resume negotiations with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal until late November, dashing hopes of a quick conclusion of talks that would allow Iranian oil back onto the market in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. “The other side understands that it’s ultimately a two- or three-month process for the new government to become well-established and plan for any sort of decision on this subject,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV in an interview late on Monday, without giving a specific date. Taking August 25 as the date when Amirabdollahian and most of his fellow ministers were confirmed in their posts, that means talks may not resume until October or November. Such a timeline would make it difficult for Iran to return to global oil markets before the end of the year, as many analysts and traders had expected. Diplomats had said they were 90% of the way toward a deal when talks with the U.S., EU, U.K., Russia and China were suspended in June when hardliner Ebrahim Raeisi was elected president and took over government. - Bloomberg