EU officials mediating talks between the US and Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal they presented the "final text" of an agreement which they hope will persuade Tehran to sign.
The latest round of negotiations, which began in Vienna last week, had the characteristics of a final attempt to secure an agreement between the Islamic Republic and Joe Biden's administration after 15 months of indirect talks between EU-run adversaries.
"What can be negotiated has been negotiated and is now in a final text "Said Josep Borrell, head of EU foreign policy.
"However, behind every technical question and every paragraph hides a political decision that must be taken in the capitals ", he said Borrell on Twitter. "If the answers are positive, then we can sign the agreement ”.
Diplomats and analysts have been saying for weeks that, once many of the details of an agreement have been reached, it is up to Tehran and Washington to decide politically whether to sign it or not.
Washington and Tehran, which blame each other for the stalemate, entered the talks by downplaying expectations of a breakthrough.
The Iranian delegation would return to Tehran for consultations, according to Iranian state media. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said yesterday in a telephone conversation with Borrell that "any final agreement should satisfy the rights and interests of the Iranian nation and ensure a sustainable and effective removal of sanctions ”.
Another official from the Iranian Foreign Ministry told local news agencies that it was done "Relative progress" in the talks, but added that the Republic continues to nurture "serious concerns”That the United States is not meeting its commitments.
Under the agreement, reached in 2015, Iran agreed to impose strict limits on its nuclear activity in exchange for the lifting of many sanctions by the United States. The crisis was unleashed when former US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the deal in 2018 and imposed new, more pressing sanctions on Iran's economy.
Tehran, in response, has ramped up its nuclear activity and is now enriching uranium nearing the level for atomic bomb production.