The delegations of the European Union, Iran and Russia appeared optimistic on Monday, November 29, after the first talks in five months between Iran and the European powers to try to save the pact concluded in 2015 on Iranian nuclear power, despite the firm line chosen by Tehran.
The meeting that opened this new round lasted a little over two hours at the Coburg Palace in Austria, where this historic text was concluded.
Despite "difficult circumstances", "what I saw today prompts me to be extremely positive," European diplomat Enrique Mora, who heads the negotiations, said at the exit.
The experts will continue the work over the next few days with "a sense of urgency to revive" the 2015 pact, he said, refusing, however, to give a deadline as the questions are "complex".
With two components: on the one hand, Tehran's nuclear commitments;
on the other, the lifting of American sanctions.
The Islamic Republic, saying its "determination to reach a fair agreement", also referred to "a professional and serious atmosphere".
"End the suffering of the Iranian people"
The various parties parted in June with the hope of an imminent conclusion, but the coming to power in Iran of the ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raïssi was a game-changer.
For months, the new leadership has ignored Westerners' call to return to the table, while continuing to ramp up the nuclear program.
Tehran now insists on "the lifting of all sanctions, in a guaranteed and verifiable manner", "an absolute priority".
In the capital, residents interviewed by AFP said they expected "results" because "the purchasing power of ordinary people is dwindling day by day".
"It is urgent to put an end to the suffering of the Iranian people", insisted Enrique Mora.
Faced with a strong Iranian delegation for this seventh session since the start of the talks in April, diplomats from the other states involved - Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - took their seats, while Joe's United States Biden participate indirectly.
"Prioritize diplomacy"
The White House reiterated Monday "privilege diplomacy".
Before his arrival in Austria, the American envoy Rob Malley had however warned: if the Iranians "are dragging their feet (...), then, of course, we would not be ready to sit idly by".
Since the start of the year, Iran has crossed several lines, raising the uranium enrichment rate to unprecedented levels and restricting access to IAEA inspectors.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, responsible for monitoring the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, lamented last week the lack of progress on several outstanding issues.
"The situation is increasingly precarious," said Kelsey Davenport, an expert from the Arms Control Association, in a recent exchange with journalists.
"If former US President Donald Trump is at the origin of the crisis, Iranian actions are prolonging it," she regretted.
The 2015 agreement, known by its acronym JCPOA, offered Tehran the lifting of part of the sanctions stifling its economy in exchange for a drastic reduction in its nuclear program, placed under strict UN control.
But the United States unilaterally left the pact in 2018 under President Donald Trump and reinstated punitive measures.
In return, the Islamic Republic, which denies wanting to acquire the bomb, has gradually abandoned its commitments.
We must also take into account Israel, which called not to "give in to nuclear blackmail" from its sworn enemy.
Its head of diplomacy Yaïr Lapid is Monday and Tuesday in Europe in the hope of influencing the positions of London and Paris.
"We will work day and night to prevent the Iranian regime from ever having nuclear weapons," he wrote in a column co-signed with his British counterpart Liz Truss in the daily Telegraph.
"We want these discussions to succeed. But if this is not the case, all options are on the table," the minister warned after her meeting with the Israeli official.
With AFP and Reuters
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