The European Union’s top diplomat said on Saturday that negotiators were close to finishing an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
“Now we are very close to an agreement and I hope it will be possible,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a speech to the Doha Forum in Qatar, according to Reuters.
Borrell’s comments come amid stalled progress toward a deal, which would see the Obama administration’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action revived. Russian negotiators demanded earlier this month that any trade between Russia and Iran be exempt from economic sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, derailing negotiations.
The EU’s coordinator for negotiations, Enrique Mora, wrote on Twitter on Friday that he is heading to Tehran to continue talks with Iran’s head negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani.
“Travelling to Tehran tomorrow to meet [Bagheri Kani],” Mora wrote. “Working on closing the remaining gaps in the #ViennaTalks on the #JCPOA. We must conclude this negotiation. Much is at stake.”
Travelling to Tehran tomorrow to meet @Bagheri_Kani. Working on closing the remaining gaps in the #ViennaTalks on the #JCPOA. We must conclude this negotiation. Much is at stake.
— Enrique Mora (@enriquemora_) March 25, 2022
One of the final issues to be resolved before reimplementing the JCPOA is the status of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite Iranian force which the U.S. currently designates as a terrorist organization. Negotiators are considering whether to remove that designation, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.
Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the issue of U.S. sanctions on the IRGC was a main sticking point in negotiations, in comments to state TV on Saturday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the Biden administration’s decision to return to the Iran deal would be based on the “best interests” of U.S. security.
“We don’t have a deal yet, we’re consulting with our allies and partners, including Israel, as we negotiate, and the president is going to make a decision on whether to reenter the deal based on what’s in the best interests of American security and strategic interests,” Psaki told reporters.