Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US National Guard Troops in Washington to Begin Carrying Weapons, Officials Say

4 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Burns 3,338 Acres, Evacuation Orders Issued

4 hours ago

Wall Street Slips as Powell-Led Momentum Wanes

4 hours ago

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

3 days ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

3 days ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

3 days ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

3 days ago

Pew: US Immigrant Population Declines for First Time in Nearly 60 Years

3 days ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

3 days ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

3 days ago
Negotiators See Signs of Progress in Iran Nuclear Talks
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
April 20, 2021

Share

BERLIN — Diplomats working in Vienna on a solution to bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran and world powers are taking a break from talks to consult with their leaders amid continued signs of progress, Russia’s delegate said Tuesday.

Talks ‘Moving Forward Despite Difficulties’

Mikhail Ulyanov said after a meeting of the deal’s so-called Joint Commission of senior officials with representatives from France, Germany, Britain, China and Iran that they had noted “with satisfaction of the progress in negotiations to restore the nuclear deal.”

“It was decided to take a break to allow the delegations to do homework and consult with the capitals,” he tweeted. “The Commission will meet again early next week.”

Iran’s delegate, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, sounded a positive note, telling Iran’s official IRNA news agency that the talks were “moving forward despite difficulties and challenges.”

The U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018 under then President Donald Trump, who said it needed to be renegotiated. Consequently, Washington has not been at the table for the Vienna talks, but an American delegation is in the Austrian capital and representatives of the other powers have been shuttling between it and the Iranian delegation.

The ultimate goal of the deal is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, something it insists it doesn’t want to do. Iran now has enough enriched uranium to make a bomb, but nowhere near the amount it had before the nuclear deal was signed, and President Joe Biden has said he wants to bring the U.S. back into the pact.

Goodwill from Both the U.S. and Iran to Reach Agreement

The two major issues being negotiated are the rollback of American sanctions imposed by Trump’s administration after the withdrawal from the deal, and the return of Iran to compliance with the restrictions imposed by the JCPOA on its nuclear program. Iran has been steadily violating them to pressure the remaining signatories to the deal, so far unsuccessfully, to come up with economic incentives to offset the American sanctions.

Tehran has been insisting that the U.S. lift all sanctions imposed under Trump, including those not related to its nuclear program, while Washington has said Iran needs to comply with all restrictions.

Working groups have been trying to come to solutions for both issues, and the European Union, which chairs the Joint Commission meetings, said a third group was set up Tuesday “to start looking into the possible sequencing of respective matters.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that he had spoken last week with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Borrell said that while he couldn’t go into details, there was “a real goodwill from both parties to reach an agreement, and that is good news.”

“They have been moving from general to more focused issues, which are, clearly, on one side sanctions lifting and, on the other side, nuclear implementation issues,” he said.

Solution Possible Within the Month

Talks have been going on for two weeks in Vienna and there has been no timeline set for a solution, but Ulyanov said optimistically that it might be possible within the next month.

“The process isn’t easy,” he said in an interview that he tweeted a link to Tuesday. “It would be good to finish negotiations successfully within a month. It seems to be doable.”

In Tehran, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said “we still assess the atmosphere of the Vienna talks as positive.”

“We are cautiously hopeful about an understanding for restoring the nuclear deal, but it is too soon yet to express optimism or pessimism about the final result of the consultations,” he said.

Outside the talks in Vienna, however, other challenges remain.

An attack suspected to have been carried out by Israel recently struck Iran’s Natanz nuclear site, causing an unknown amount of damage. Tehran retaliated by beginning to enrich a small amount of uranium up to 60% purity, its highest level ever. Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency also could be disrupted without an agreement.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Former Mexican Drug Kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Pleads Guilty to US Charges

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Two Convicted Felons After Traffic Stop

DON'T MISS

Trump To Sign Executive Order Directing AG To Prosecute Flag Desecration

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Orders Aimed At Ending Cashless Bail Policies

DON'T MISS

Alleged Killer of Caleb Quick Returns to Court. What Is the Current Status?

DON'T MISS

Former CSU Chancellor, Fresno State President Joseph Castro, 58, Passes of Cancer

DON'T MISS

Joe Castro: A Life Cut Far Too Short, but His Legacy Marches On

DON'T MISS

Deportations Reach New High After Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests

DON'T MISS

From Visalia to the Big Leagues: Dave Flemming’s Journey to Giants’ Broadcast Booth

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Desiree Alayna Cruder

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Orders Aimed At Ending Cashless Bail Policies

UP NEXT

Israel Hits Gaza Hospital, Killing at Least 20 People, Including 5 Journalists

UP NEXT

US Envoy Meets Netanyahu on Lebanon and Syria, Israeli Officials Say

UP NEXT

Widespread Protests Held in Australia to Support Palestinians

UP NEXT

VP Vance Says Russia Has Made Significant Concessions Toward Ukraine Peace Deal

UP NEXT

Israel Strikes Yemeni Capital Sanaa

UP NEXT

California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

California Voters Still Support High-Speed Rail, Even If It Never Gets Done

UP NEXT

Turkish First Lady Urges Melania Trump to Speak out on Gaza

UP NEXT

Pew: US Immigrant Population Declines for First Time in Nearly 60 Years

Trump Signs Orders Aimed At Ending Cashless Bail Policies

43 minutes ago

Alleged Killer of Caleb Quick Returns to Court. What Is the Current Status?

1 hour ago

Former CSU Chancellor, Fresno State President Joseph Castro, 58, Passes of Cancer

1 hour ago

Joe Castro: A Life Cut Far Too Short, but His Legacy Marches On

2 hours ago

Deportations Reach New High After Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests

2 hours ago

From Visalia to the Big Leagues: Dave Flemming’s Journey to Giants’ Broadcast Booth

3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Desiree Alayna Cruder

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 16 Drivers in DUI Operation

3 hours ago

Fresno County DUI Crash Sends Car Into Embankment Near Highway 99

3 hours ago

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego Again Detained by US Immigration Officials

3 hours ago

Former Mexican Drug Kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Pleads Guilty to US Charges

NEW YORK — Former Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada pleaded guilty on Monday to U.S. charges related to his decades-...

18 minutes ago

Federal law enforcement officers stand outside the Brooklyn Federal courthouse, ahead of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder plea hearing on U.S. drug trafficking charges, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., August 25, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
18 minutes ago

Former Mexican Drug Kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Pleads Guilty to US Charges

Fresno police arrested two convicted felons after a traffic stop led to the discovery of firearms, ammunition, drugs and outstanding warrants. (Fresno PD)
31 minutes ago

Fresno Police Arrest Two Convicted Felons After Traffic Stop

President Donald Trump signs an executive order at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 25, 2025.
39 minutes ago

Trump To Sign Executive Order Directing AG To Prosecute Flag Desecration

43 minutes ago

Trump Signs Orders Aimed At Ending Cashless Bail Policies

1 hour ago

Alleged Killer of Caleb Quick Returns to Court. What Is the Current Status?

Joseph Castro
1 hour ago

Former CSU Chancellor, Fresno State President Joseph Castro, 58, Passes of Cancer

Joseph Joe Castro Fresno State Commencement
2 hours ago

Joe Castro: A Life Cut Far Too Short, but His Legacy Marches On

Image of man being detained in Denver by ICE agents
2 hours ago

Deportations Reach New High After Summer Surge in Immigration Arrests

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend