SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Nuclear talks between Iran and Western powers are reaching their final stage and now require political input, E3 negotiators said in a statement on Friday.
“January has been the most intensive period of these talks to date,” said the statement from the so-called E3: France, Britain and Germany, according to Reuters.
“Everyone knows we are reaching the final stage, which requires political decisions. Negotiators are therefore returning to capitals for consultation.”
Western diplomats are facing a self-imposed mid-February deadline to try and revive the 2015 agreement, which restrained Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
That means the next few weeks are critical in determining whether the deal is restored – or talks fall apart altogether.
The 2015 deal — agreed by Iran, the United States (under Democratic president Barack Obama), China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to ensure it would not develop atomic weapons.
But former U.S. president Donald Trump pulled Washington out in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions, prompting Tehran to begin rolling back on its commitments.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday the talks between Iran and world powers remained difficult, but there were indications an agreement can be reached.
Macron told reporters after a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the question of guarantees for Iran and how to bring its nuclear programme back under control still needed clarification, Reuters reported.
The main aims of the talks are to take the U.S. back into the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and bring Iran back into line with the limits the deal laid down on its nuclear activities.
