Iran nuke talks continue in Vienna

Talks aimed at reaching common ground on the Iranian nuclear situation were held in Vienna on Thursday, reported Xinhua.

This was the seventh round of talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) currently being negotiated by EU officials and China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

The goal of the JCPOA is to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, which the U.S. withdrew from in 2018 under the Trump administration, unilaterally re-imposing sanctions on Iran. Tehran has retaliated by gradually stopping implementing elements of the deal since May 2019.

Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora, who chaired Thursday's talks, told reporters afterwards that all parties are "very committed" to "bringing the JCPOA back to life."

A working group on nuclear issues will continue on Friday.

Discussions were difficult due to the parties' different positions, Mora said, but: "We are not starting from scratch. We are starting from very solid work, done over a number of weeks by all the delegations." He emphasized the need to be "extremely realistic about what we can get."

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said on Twitter that Thursday's meeting was "rather short and constructive." Parties were in agreement over the need to finalize the talks swiftly, he added.

The seventh round of talks started on Nov. 29, lasting for five days, during which Iran submitted draft proposals for a restored 2015 nuclear agreement. However, senior diplomats from Britain, France and Germany on Dec. 3 voiced "disappointment and concern after thoroughly and carefully analyzing Iranian proposed changes to the text negotiated during the previous six rounds."