Marathon talks in Vienna to save the nuclear deal with Iran

How to return the United States to the international nuclear agreement with Iran after Washington left it in 2018 during Donald Trump's tenure?

This is the bet of the discussions currently taking place in Vienna behind closed doors in a large hotel.

How are the negotiations going?

There are meetings of the Joint Committee, once or twice a week, between the states party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, referring to the designation of the 2015 agreement in the Austrian capital, which are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and Iran.

There are also experts working throughout the week on two issues: Iran's nuclear commitments and US sanctions.

After the first meeting of the Joint Commission, Tuesday, which Washington and Tehran described as "constructive", an assessment of progress is due on Friday morning.

The European Union Coordinator Enrique Moura continues his tours to brief the American delegation, which is in a separate place about 100 meters away.

Another source said, "The Iranians do not want to take risks, nor do they meet by chance."

There is also a number of bilateral meetings, pictures of which are published by the various parties on Twitter.

The source says that "there are all forms of consultations that can be imagined, between European countries and Iranians, European countries and Russians, European countries and Chinese, Russians and Chinese, Americans and Russians, Americans and Chinese, etc."

How does Iran return to the agreement?

This is the goal of one of the working groups "to examine the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that have been violated by the Iranians" in response to Donald Trump's re-imposition of sanctions, and to study how they can be reversed, according to the diplomatic source.

"At the moment, they are somewhat positive," he notes, but the technically very complex process is still in its infancy.

Iran began to waive commitments in May 2019, at a pace that has accelerated in recent months.

At the beginning of January, Tehran launched a pathway to produce 20% enriched uranium, which is much higher than the limit set by the agreement, and its stockpile now stands at 55 kilograms, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

In February, Iran announced the start of production of metallic uranium, in addition to reducing inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

What sanctions will the United States lift?

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action allowed the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran to be eased in exchange for substantially reducing its nuclear activities under the supervision of the United Nations, in order to ensure that it did not obtain an atomic bomb, but Donald Trump re-affirmed it by announcing the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement.

This included freezing the assets of leaders within the regime, drying up oil exports, financial isolation, and more.

Iran calls for the abolition of all punitive measures that were reimposed or imposed by the former US president.

Vienna talks about the nuclear deal in an Iranian newspaper (Reuters)

Washington appears ready to meet these aspirations, as its envoy, Rob Mali, previously referred to "lifting the sanctions that contradict the agreement."

Esfandiar Batmanglij, a visiting scholar at the European Council on International Relations, says Trump has undermined the legal space by taking measures without an explicit link to the JCPOA and in fact aiming to "complicate the mission" of his allies to return to the deal.

However, "the Biden administration made it clear that its hands are not bound by Trump's maneuvers."

When do we expect results?

This is the question that raises a great ambiguity, as Iran expects "a little time", but several sources indicate a path that will take several weeks.

Is it possible to succeed before the Iranian presidential elections on 18 June, which should lead to a successor to Hassan Rouhani?

"It is difficult to know this," according to a diplomatic source, adding, "It is a good start, but it can stop at any time."

Another source says, "If by the first half of May we do not succeed in giving strong momentum with clear progress, I will be concerned about the Iranian will or the ability to complete these negotiations before the elections."