Nuclear deal agreement closer than ever: Iran

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s deputy foreign minister on Sunday voiced optimism on the last day of the sixth round of Vienna talks to revive Iran’s nuclear deal, saying a deal is closer than ever.

“Today is the last day of the sixth round of talks. We have gone through a lot of hard work and we are now in a situation where almost all the documents of the agreement are ready,” Abbas Araghchi, deputy foreign minister and Iran’s chief negotiator in the Vienna talks said on Sunday, according to Iranian state media.

An agreement is closer than ever before, he added.

The Russian representative, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Sunday that “significant progress” has been made in the talks. A break will now be held for delegates to consult with their home countries.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said that the onus is on the US to bring the deal back to life.

Talks began in Vienna in April, after virtual discussions were held aimed at bringing the US back to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and for Iran to return to full compliance with its nuclear obligations.

The fifth round of talks ended on June 2 with optimism that a deal could be reached. Negotiators from the US are taking part indirectly in the EU-chaired discussions in Vienna.

Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark nuclear accord in 2018 and began a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions in a bid to force Tehran to make a new deal that would also address its ballistic missile program and regional activities.

As a result of the sanctions, Iran has steadily walked back on its nuclear commitments and is now enriching uranium up to at least 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit set in the agreement. Iran has said it would return to its commitments under the deal, but only in exchange for a full lift on US sanctions, a request that the US has rejected on multiple occasions.