State Department spokesman Ned Price said that his country is ready to lift any sanctions imposed on Iran that are inconsistent with the nuclear agreement, stressing Washington's readiness to take the necessary steps to return to abiding by the terms of the agreement, at a time when Israel announced that any agreement with Tehran would not be binding on it.
Price indicated that indirect talks with Iran in Vienna would be difficult for several reasons, including the lack of trust between Tehran and Washington, expressing his hope for reaching a mutual commitment to the nuclear agreement.
A spokesman for the US State Department revealed that his country’s team in Vienna held consultations with delegations from the European Union, Russia and China, and heard from them the Iranian position.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Tel Aviv rejected any international agreement with Tehran, and said that Israel would not be bound by an agreement that would enable Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
In a press statement, Netanyahu added that any agreement with Iran paves the way for it to manufacture nuclear weapons.
The White House spokeswoman Jane Saki said that the Vienna talks are still in their early stages, despite the positive atmosphere.
Sacchi added that the main issues revolve around the steps that Washington and Tehran must take in order for Iran to return to its commitments in the nuclear deal to lift sanctions.
The Vienna Meetings
Meetings of the Joint Working Committee for the Nuclear Agreement under the auspices of the European Union and the participation of the United States for the first time since the arrival of President Joe Biden's administration to the White House are continuing in Vienna.
The meeting was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany, and Iran, in addition to the United States.
On the agenda was the return of the United States to the nuclear agreement, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and Tehran's retreat from the measures it had taken to reduce its nuclear commitments.
In Tehran, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said - in a press briefing on Wednesday 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 made 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 negotiation between the Iranian and American delegations in Vienna.
The Russian representative in Vienna held talks with the US special envoy to Iran on fully reviving the nuclear agreement and its implementation by all parties.
Reviving the nuclear deal
On Tuesday, the first day, Tuesday, negotiations began in Vienna to revive the nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, after the withdrawal of the former US President Donald Trump's administration from it in 2018 and imposing economic sanctions on Tehran.
The agreement signed in 2015 imposes restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Tehran.
The negotiations aim to restore Washington to the agreement, and pave the way for Iran to retreat from the restrictions imposed on it according to it, as uranium enrichment operations increased to 20%, exceeding the permitted 3.67%.
Israel believes that Iran was violating the terms of the agreement and is working to acquire a nuclear weapon, while Tehran denies that it has ambitions in this regard, and says that its program is designed for peaceful purposes.