Iran, 5 World Powers Discuss Nuclear Deal

Germany, France, and Britain are among those who met in Vienna
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 28, 2019 11:31 AM CDT
Iran, 5 World Powers Discuss Nuclear Deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, welcomes his Omani counterpart Yousuf bin Alawi for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 27, 2019.   (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Diplomats from Iran and five world powers recommitted Sunday to salvaging a major nuclear deal amid mounting tensions between the West and Tehran since the US withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions, the AP reports. Representatives of Iran, Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia, and the European Union met in Vienna to discuss the 2015 agreement that restricts the Iranian nuclear program. "The atmosphere was constructive, and the discussions were good," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told reporters after the meeting ended. "I cannot say that we resolved everything" but all the parties are still "determined to save this deal," he added.

Diplomats said there was a general agreement to organize a higher-level meeting of foreign ministers soon, but also that preparations for such a summit needed to be done well. A date has not been set. Iran is pressuring the remaining parties to the deal to offset the sanctions US President Donald Trump reinstated after pulling out. The country recently surpassed the uranium stockpile and enrichment limits set out in the agreement, narrowing the one-year window needed to build an atomic bomb, but said the action could be reversed if the other parties came up with economic incentives. At the Sunday meeting, the Europeans apparently urged Iran to come back to full compliance and Iran urged the European Union, France, Britain, and Germany to implement their part of the deal. (Iran said Monday it had arrested 17 CIA-trained spies.)

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