The third day of talks in Vienna: Iranian Representative Ali Bagari Kani met with Nerika Moreh, EU foreign policy chief and head of nuclear negotiations, the Islamic Republic’s state news agency reported.
However, it was reported that China and Russia, which are considered closer countries to the regime around the table than their Western counterparts, have succeeded in persuading the Iranians to withdraw at some of their anchor points: not only focusing on lifting sanctions but also on the nuclear program. Although this seems like some progress compared to the last few days, as mentioned, this is not a breakthrough at all, but an initial agreement on the core issues.
At the same time, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, one of the most active figures in the race for the agreement, met with Robert Mali, President Joe Biden’s special envoy to Iran and the US representative in indirect talks with the regime.
A Western political source told Iran International, which is close to the Iranian opposition in the Diaspora, that there will be no more long breaks in the negotiations and that the representatives will work until an agreement is reached, further evidence of this or that will be the outcome.
At the same time, Iran is strengthening its geopolitical alliance with its biggest trading partner – Beijing, after President Ibrahim Raisi’s cabinet on Wednesday approved the opening of a Chinese consulate in the southern port city of Bender Abbas, opposite the Hormuz Strait, a place it has reportedly absorbed. Israeli cyber attack in April last year.
Met today with the #US Special Envoy for #Iran Mr. Robert Malley. Close consultations and coordination between the Russian and the US delegations in the course of the #ViennaTalks constitute an important prerequisite for progress towards restoration of #JCPOA. pic.twitter.com/CXFa9ttBfe
– Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) December 29, 2021
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Ness Price noted during a briefing that the dialogue between the parties was too slow to know the White House and warned that “it can not continue or that it will soon be too late”.
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