The Joint Working Committee for the Nuclear Agreement will hold a meeting in Vienna today, under the auspices of the European Union, with the participation of the United States for the first time since Joe Biden's arrival at the White House, which was described as an advanced step to revive diplomacy in this file.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Abdullah Al-Shami said from the Coburg Palace in Vienna, where the meeting is based, that the United States is represented by a delegation headed by Rob Mali, the special envoy on Iranian affairs, while Iran is represented by a delegation headed by Abbas Araghji, Deputy Foreign Minister, who arrived in the Austrian capital on Monday evening.

It is not planned to hold any direct talks between the US and Iranian sides, as Tehran confirms that it will not engage in any dialogue with Washington before the sanctions are lifted completely.

The meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, as well as the United States.

On his agenda is the return of the United States to the 2015 nuclear agreement, the lifting of sanctions on Iran and its retreat from the measures it has taken to reduce its nuclear obligations.

Proposals

In Tehran, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, in a press briefing this morning, that his country had received several proposals on lifting US sanctions through the "4 + 1" group (China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany).

Rabiei stressed the need for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement before any proposal is put forward to negotiate with Tehran, and he stressed that his country is ready to return to all its nuclear commitments if the United States lifted all sanctions, and at the same time ruled out any form of negotiation between the Iranian and American delegations in Vienna.

The Iranian spokesman said that the position of the US envoy on the Iranian file, Robert Malley, who believes that sanctions should be lifted, is "positive for reforming the diplomatic track."

But he said, "We are neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the outcome of this meeting now, but we are confident that we are on the right track. If America proves that it has the will, seriousness and honesty, then that could be a positive sign for a better future for this agreement and its ultimate implementation."

Advanced nuclear devices

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Authority announced that his country had started the phase of mechanical testing of advanced IR9 centrifuges.

The spokesman said that these devices are very modern, and locally manufactured according to what he described as approved standards.

In the last period, Iran began to increase the rate of uranium enrichment using sophisticated centrifuges, as part of steps to reduce its obligations in the nuclear agreement, in response to the US sanctions imposed on it since the withdrawal of former President Donald Trump's administration from the agreement in 2018.

On the other hand, the United States described the Vienna meeting as a step forward, but it does not expect a quick breakthrough.

"We do not underestimate the size of the challenges nor do we expect immediate breakthroughs, because these discussions will be difficult as expected, but we believe that talks with Iran through our partners are a correct step and a step forward," State Department spokesman Ned Price said yesterday, Monday, in response to a question by Al-Jazeera. .