Iran says nuclear deal talks will resume on November 29

Bagheri says date for Vienna negotiations was set in a phone call with EU mediator

Iran yesterday said it will resume talks with world powers on November 29 in Vienna on reviving a nuclear deal after a five-month gap.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, who serves as Tehran’s chief negotiator, said the date was set in a phone call with EU mediator Enrique Mora. “We agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful and inhumane sanctions on 29 November in Vienna,” Bagheri said on Twitter, referring to sanctions the US has imposed on Tehran since Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.

EU, US confirm date

The EU and the US confirmed the date in separate statements shortly afterwards. “We still believe there is a window,” Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department told reporters, adding, “we still believe that’s viable, we still believe that’s in our national interest.”

The announcement is the first hard signal since June that there may be a horizon for the removal of sanctions on Iran and its return to oil markets.

Oil tanker captured

The announcement comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it seized an oil tanker that the US was using in an attempt to confiscate a shipment of Iranian crude in the Gulf of Oman on October 25, according to Iranian state TV.

Citing unnamed US officials, AP said Iran captured a Vietnamese vessel and denied any altercation. Iran’s exports have dwindled to under one million barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, from the 2.5 million it shipped prior to Trump’s move.