EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell has high hopes that talks on Iran’s nuclear program can be resumed, and soon.
– We will continue the talks on the nuclear energy agreement in the next few days. And I mean fast, immediately, says Borrell in Tehran.
The foreign minister went to Iran on Friday, and then said he had good hopes of breathing new life into the talks.
“We have today agreed that negotiations will resume after this trip, and this also applies to the talks between Iran and the United States in order to resolve the last obstacles,” Borrell said at a press conference in Iran’s capital.
In Tehran, he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who confirmed that negotiations could continue.
– We will try to solve our problems and disagreements through the talks that will soon be resumed, says Amir-Abdollahian.
Negotiations stall
The previous agreement was concluded in 2015 between the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran. This meant that Iran’s opportunities to enrich uranium were limited in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against the country.
US President Donald Trump tore up the agreement in 2018 and reintroduced harsh sanctions. Since then, Iran has repeatedly deviated from the agreement, but after Trump’s resignation, the prospects for a new agreement have brightened.
Earlier this year, Iran, France, Britain, China, Germany and Russia met in Vienna to try to reach a new agreement, but negotiations stalled.
Want to see lift sanctions
A revived agreement would mean that sanctions against Iran would be lifted and that the country could resume its oil exports – which would be welcome among many countries in the West that want to reduce their dependence on Russian oil.
Amir-Abdollahian now says that a requirement for the negotiations to continue is that the sanctions be lifted according to the 2015 agreement.
– We hope that the United States in particular this time enters the negotiations with realistic and honest intentions, with the aim of reaching a new agreement.
From the American side, Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, states on Twitter that “we remain committed to meaningful diplomacy in consultation with our European partners”.