West Backs Off from Maximum Demands in Vienna Talks: Iranian Spokesman


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the mutually agreed-upon text in the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal was reached after the Western parties backed off from their maximum demands.

The mutually accepted text in the course of Vienna talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has become available because the Western side realized that it has to back off from its maximum demands, Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a press conference on Monday.

“What we observe today is the Western parties’ realism that they cannot make any demand relating to the nuclear issue beyond the JCPOA,” he added.

The spokesman also noted that the Iranian team of negotiators goes to Vienna today to proceed with the bilateral and multilateral meetings.

The negotiations will begin to focus on contextual subjects today, he added.

Khatibzadeh also noted that the Vienna talks have made some progress in the topics relating to verification, guarantees, removal of sanctions, and nuclear issues.

Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China -- resumed talks in Vienna on November 29 after a five-month hiatus, marking the first round of negotiations under President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration and the seventh overall.

During the seventh round of the Vienna talks, Iran presented two draft texts which address, separately, the removal of US sanctions and Iran’s return to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA. Tehran also said it was preparing a third draft text on the verification of the sanctions removal.