Negotiators Mull Change to Venue of Iran Nuclear Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Negotiators in nuclear talks between Iran and world powers are considering changing the venue of talks from Austria to somewhere else after revelations of cyber-attacks on the hotels hosting the negotiations, an informed source announced.
“Given the significance and increasing sensitivity of the talks, and as the deadline (of June 30) approaches, the negotiators are considering a change in the venue of the negotiations from Austria’s Vienna to another city or even another country,” the informed source in Vienna told the IRIB on Friday.
The comments came after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday that a computer virus, widely used by Israeli spies, had attacked the hotels hosting nuclear talks between Iran and six powers.
Russian-based Cybersecurity Company Kaspersky said on Wednesday that the malware dubbed Duqu, a sophisticated spy tool that was believed to have been eradicated in 2012, appeared to have been used to spy on the talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Iran’s embassies in Vienna and Bern have sent separate official written messages to the foreign ministries of Austria and Switzerland, expressing Tehran’s serious concern about reports of cyber-attacks on the hotels hosting the nuclear talks.
The diplomatic missions have also demanded that any information found in an investigation of the issue be shared with Iran.
Switzerland and Austria have begun investigating the allegations of spying at the negotiations.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to hammer out a lasting agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.
They have held several rounds of talks in recent months, mostly at luxury hotels in Vienna and the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne.