TEHRAN: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that talks in Vienna on rescuing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal had opened a “new chapter.”
An Iranian delegation met Tuesday with representatives of the remaining parties to the agreement to discuss how to bring Washington back into it and end crippling US sanctions and Iranian countermeasures.
US President Joe Biden has said he is ready to reverse the decision of his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose unilateral sanctions.
But differences remain over the mechanics of the move as Tehran has since responded by suspending compliance with some of its own obligations under the deal.
The United States was not present at Tuesday’s discussions because Iran has refused to meet the US delegation so long as its sanctions remain in place.
Instead, the European Union acted as an intermediary, but all sides gave a positive assessment of the opening talks.
“A new chapter has just been opened yesterday,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting Wednesday.
“If (Washington) shows it is honest and sincere, that’s all we ask... I think we’ll be able to negotiate in a short time, if necessary, with the (other parties to the deal).”
The talks are to resume in Vienna on Friday, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said.
The US delegation is to gather in a different hotel, with EU negotiators acting as go-betweens.
At the same time, two groups of experts — on lifting sanctions and nuclear issues — are working “to identify concrete measures to be taken by Washington and Tehran” to restore the deal, Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said.
Washington gave an upbeat assessment of the opening session.
“We do see this as a constructive and certainly welcome step,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Iran’s Rouhani says Vienna talks open ‘new chapter’
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Iran’s Rouhani says Vienna talks open ‘new chapter’
- US President Joe Biden has said he is ready to reverse the decision of his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose unilateral sanctions
Iran says any US attack including limited strikes would be ‘act of aggression’
- Foreign ministry spokesman said any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defense
- Trump said Friday he was considering a limited strike if Tehran did not reach a deal with the US
TEHRAN: Iran said Monday that any US attack, including limited strikes, would be an “act of aggression” that would precipitate a response, after President Donald Trump said he was considering a limited strike on Iran.
“And with respect to your first question concerning the limited strike, I think there is no limited strike,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran attended by an AFP journalist.
“An act of aggression would be regarded as an act of aggression. Period. And any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defense ferociously so that’s what we would do.”
Trump said Friday he was considering a limited strike if Tehran did not reach a deal with the United States.
“I guess I can say I am considering that,” he replied following a question from reporters.
The two countries concluded a second round of indirect talks in Switzerland on Tuesday under Omani mediation, against the backdrop of a major US military build-up in the region.
Further talks, confirmed by Iran and Oman but not by the United States, are scheduled for Thursday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is leading the negotiations for Iran, while the United States is represented by envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Trump is wondering why Iran has not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military deployment, Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News broadcast on Sunday.
Baqaei responded Monday by saying that Iranians had never capitulated at any point in their history.
