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Russian envoy sees no specific progress in talks to revive Iran nuke deal

It is noted that the US and Iran have so far been unable to find common ground on a range of issues

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. There hasn’t been any specific progress in talks to rekindle Iran’s nuclear deal yet, but the dialogue is continuing, Russia’s Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan told the Rossiya-24 TV station on Wednesday.

"As for the prospects to revive the JCPOA, I’d like to say that with some optimism lacking here, indirect discussions are still ongoing between the US and Iran with the European Action Service acting as a mediator," the Russian envoy said.

He recalled that the latest round of the negotiations was held in the Qatari capital of Doha on June 28-29 with the mediation of Enrique Mora, who is Josep Borrell’s deputy. The Iranian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani then met with the US special envoy for the Iran nuclear talks, Robert Malley, with "no specific progress so far," the Russian diplomat said.

The US and Iran have so far been unable to find common ground on a range of issues, Dzhagaryan said.

Tehran has also been showing distrust of the United States over disagreements between the Democrats and the Republicans on the JCPOA.

"Before February 24, when I asked my European colleagues how the Americans can be trusted when the Democrats seem to favor the revival of the agreement, while the Republicans insist they will withdraw from it if they take office. The question was left unanswered, as nobody ever tends to criticize their boss," he added.

In 2015, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany reached a nuclear deal with Iran in order to address the crisis around its nuclear program. In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump decided to pull out of the agreement, with Washington slapping its most sweeping sanctions ever on Tehran. Incumbent US leader Joe Biden has repeatedly indicated his support for reentering the nuclear deal.

On March 11, the negotiators took a pause following eight rounds of talks in Vienna to revive the deal. Enrique Mora said the indirect discussions held in Doha between the US and Iran in late June had not yielded any desired results.