Outstanding Issues in Vienna Talks Require US’ Decision: Iranian FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the onus is on the United States to make the necessary decisions in order to resolve the few outstanding issues in the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
In a telephone conversation on Saturday, Amirabdollahian and his Belgian counterpart Sophie Wilmes talked about issues of mutual interest, with both urging efforts to strengthen the economic and trade ties between Tehran and Brussels.
Highlighting the significance of Iran’s relations with Belgium in terms of bilateral ties and the presence of European and international institutions in the European country, Amirabdollahian described the good ties between Tehran and Brussels that are based on mutual respect as positive.
Pointing to the Vienna talks between Iran and the P4+1 group and the progress made in the negotiations, he underscored that the settlement of a couple of remaining issues requires a decision by the United States.
Amirabdollahian said that the issue is being pursued by the EU’s representative, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
For her part, the Belgian foreign minister highlighted the parliamentary cooperation and some agreements between Belgium and Iran.
Wilmes also described the close bilateral cooperation between the two nations as vital for the development of economic ties and resolution of some existing issues.
Iran and the remaining participants to the JCPOA have been holding talks in Vienna since April last year with the aim of reviving the deal by bringing the US into full compliance.
The US left the JCPOA in May 2018 under former president Donald Trump. The Vienna talks began on a promise by Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, to rejoin the deal and repeal the so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran. Biden, however, has so far failed to undo Trump’s own undoing of Barack Obama’s Iran policy, which led to the JCPOA in June 2015.
The eighth round of the Vienna talks began on December 27 with a focus on the removal of all sanctions that the United States had imposed on Iran after its unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA. The US is not allowed to directly attend the talks due to its pullout in 2018 from the deal with Iran.