Day 2 of Vienna Nuclear Talks: Iran, World Powers Already at Odds

One day after international talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal got underway in Vienna, impressions are decidedly mixed. Iran came out punching, with its chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri, insisting on Iranian state television that all understandings reached in previous rounds amounted to a nonbinding “draft” that “are subject to negotiation. Therefore nothing is agreed on unless everything has been agreed on.” Enrique Mora, representing the European Union in the talks, apparently didn’t get the memo. The Spanish diplomat said that Iran had “accepted that the work done over the six first rounds is a good basis to build our work ahead, so no point in going back.” Meanwhile, top Russian negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov struck an inexplicably optimistic tone, tweeting on Tuesday that the relaunched negotiations were already “quite successful.”