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Iran nuclear talks should be paused, says EU’s foreign policy chief

The European Union foreign policy chief has said that talks in Vienna to resurrect the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and global powers should be paused because of “external factors”.

“A pause in #ViennaTalks is needed, due to external factors,” said Josep Borrell on Twitter on Friday at the end of a week in which western officials had hoped a deal would be announced. The Islamic republic has been in indirect talks with the US, brokered by the EU, for the past 11 months.

“A final text is essentially ready and on the table,” added Borrell. “As a coordinator, I will, with my team, continue to be in touch with all. . . participants and the US to overcome the current situation and to close the agreement. ”

Borrell did not provide further explanation as to what the “external factors” were but in recent days Russia, which is party to the deal along with US, France, UK, Germany and China, has asked for guarantees that US sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine will not affect its trade with Iran.

The Islamic republic, which considers its relations with the Kremlin as strategic, has refused to blame Russia for any difficulties in reaching an agreement and has instead accused the US of constantly changing its position.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Friday in a post on Twitter: “Pause in #ViennaTalks could be a momentum for resolving any remaining issue and a final return.” He added that “a successful conclusion of talks will be the main focus of all. No external factor will affect our joint will go forward for a collective agreement. ”

Borrell’s comments came after he had a telephone conversation with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Thursday evening. Amirabdollahian said on Twitter that “no single party can determine end result; a joint endeavor is needed. Reason should prevail. He added that “efforts to reach a good & durable agreement continue; it is within reach if US acts realistically & consistently ”.

The nuclear crisis was triggered after former US president Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the deal in 2018 and imposed crippling sanctions on the republic. Joe Biden pledged to return to the accord if Tehran came back into full compliance with the agreement. Western officials fear that if a deal is not reached soon, the moribund accord will be redundant because of the advances Tehran has made to its nuclear program.

Tehran – which has been enriching uranium close to weapons-grade since 2019 – wants all Trump-era sanctions to be lifted, including those related to human rights and terrorism allegations.

Iran wants sanctions lifted on individuals such as supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Ebrahim Raisi as well as the Revolutionary Guards and its members. Amirabdollahian told Borrell that Iran could not compromise on its “national heroes”.

Iran’s negotiators are under pressure at home to strike an agreement, particularly from the business community as well as ordinary Iranians hit by the impact of the sanctions. Reform-minded analysts believe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resultant rise in oil prices could benefit Iran and that the Islamic republic should not let Moscow derail the talks.

But they also blame hardliners for what they see as capitulation to Moscow. “Putin sent the nuclear accord into a coma,” wrote Hamid Hosseini, a leading petrochemical trader in his personal channel on the Telegram app.


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