Iran’s top negotiator and deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi
Vienna … News Time
Iran’s top negotiator and deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, has said that progress is being made despite difficulties in negotiating to save the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna. He warned that if unreasonable demands were made or time was wasted, Iran would withdraw from the talks. The Iranian deputy foreign minister told state television that it would be premature to draw any conclusions from the talks, or to say that we are hopeful or hopeless, but that we think we are moving in the right direction. A European diplomat attending the Vienna talks also said they were making progress and moving forward in a positive way. Iranian news agencies have claimed that the United States is considering temporarily lifting sanctions against Iran and will not lift them permanently. Former US President Donald Trump in May 2018 rejected the nuclear deal reached with Iran in July 2015 and imposed strict sanctions against it in November of the same year. Iran is now demanding the complete lifting of sanctions, while President Joe Biden is urging Iran to meet all the requirements of the first nuclear deal.
During these talks in Vienna, Iran has begun the process of enriching uranium to 60% at the Johannesburg Power Plant in Natanz. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed this last week. The IAEA said in a statement that the agency confirms that Iran has begun production at the Natanz (above ground) pilot fuel enrichment plant up to 60% enrichment of UA6.
