Iran nuclear talks head towards finish line

Talks very close to achieving success, Russia says

Talks between Iran and world powers over revitalising the Iran nuclear agreement have reached their final stage and are expected to conclude one way or the other by the end of this month, according to participants.

“I don’t know if it’s one, two or three weeks,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this week during a visit to Washington. But the latest round of meetings in Vienna, he said, are “certainly the last steps.”

Optimistic tone

Russia’s representative, Mikhail Ulyanov, who has adopted an optimistic tone since the talks started in April, has said that negotiations should conclude “as soon as possible, preferably this month”.

The talks, he said in an interview with the Russian news outlet Kommersant, had come “a long way” and were “very close to achieving” success.

A senior US official, however, noted that major issues on the table remain unresolved. Negotiations are both “closer than we have been to a deal,” in that some progress has been made, and “closer than we have been to breakdown,” as time for agreement runs out, the official said. “Both outcomes are still very possible,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to comment on the sensitive diplomacy.

But “based on where we are, it is more likely than not that we don’t succeed,” the official said. The Biden administration has said that only a “handful” of weeks remain before ongoing advances in Iran’s nuclear programme will make agreement impossible.

In recent days, media outlets associated with hardline Iranian factions have conveyed a sense that Tehran is committed to returning to the deal and that the decision has the blessing of the country’s highest leaders.