Iran, US to Hold Indirect Talks on Nuclear Deal

Iran and the United States will hold indirect talks beginning Tuesday on reviving the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers. Representatives of both countries will be in Vienna from Tuesday, where a meeting between Iran and the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the agreement, is set to take place. Representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia will take part in the meeting.

The United States pulled out of the nuclear deal under former President Trump in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Iran has since began violating the terms of the agreement including using advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium at much higher levels than approved in the deal. The Biden administration has said it is committed to rejoining the deal, but has called on Iran to stop its enrichment violations first. Iran has called on the US to first lift sanctions.

Iran over the weekend ruled out holding bilateral negotiations with the United States.  European Union officials told Reuters it expected the negotiations leading to a new agreement to take about two months. “If we don’t get there in two months … it will be definitely bad news,” an EU official told Reuters.