EU and US strive to entice Iran back to nuclear talks as prospects dwindle

A sensitive European mission to Iran this week failed to obtain a commitment from Tehran's new hardline leadership to resume negotiations on resurrecting a teetering nuclear deal. A senior EU official said on condition of anonymity that they are not ready to engage in Vienna yet, as per the reports of Politico. Iran has agreed to meet with EU officials in Brussels in the coming weeks to go over the contents of the texts that were on the table at the end of the previous round of discussions in Vienna in June.

The EU official said that it is not a bad idea if they sit down with the new Iranian delegation for a long meeting and go over all the texts, according to Politico. Since Ebrahim Raisi became Iran's President, the nuclear talks have been deadlocked. Iran has stated that it is ready to begin talks soon but has not specified a time frame.

Enrique Mora travelled to Tehran on Thursday

Enrique Mora, the EU's lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear talks, travelled to Tehran on October 14 for the first time since the new administration took office to meet Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani. Iran's nuclear programme has progressed substantially in recent months, with the country refining uranium to greater levels and amassing enough weapons-grade uranium that experts believe it could create a nuclear bomb in only a few months if it so desired.

These developments, combined with Iran's refusal to engage in talks, are causing concern among other signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the Iran nuclear deal is officially known, including the United States, which withdrew from the agreement under the administration of former President Donald Trump. In exchange for agreements to curtail nuclear activity, the original accord reduced international sanctions against Iran.

'Iran is utilising the time to progress its nuclear programme'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Washington on October 13, that they are approaching a point where simply complying with the JCPOA will not be enough to reap the benefits of the agreement, and this is because Iran has been utilising this time to progress its nuclear programme in a variety of ways, according to Politico.

Image: AP