Several diplomats said, on Saturday 1 May, at the end of a new meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, that the discussions were progressing slowly but surely. Negotiators remain cautious about a possible Iran nuclear deal.
The political director of the European External Action Service, Enrique Mora, said on Twitter that there were “moderate advances”, adding that “with more detail comes more complexity”.
“The JCPOA participants noted today (on Saturday 1 May) the indisputable progress made at the Vienna talks on restoration of the nuclear deal”, Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov explained on Twitter. According to him, “it’s too early to be excited, but we have reasons for cautious and growing optimism”. “There is no deadline, but participants aim at successful completion of the talks in approximately three weeks”, added the ambassador.
“As we begin to draft elements, in some areas, the trend has naturally slowed down a bit, but it continues to move forward” added Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, quoted in the media.
But European diplomats quoted by the media warned that “we have much work and little time left”. “Against that background, we would have hoped for more progress this week”, they stressed, adding that the negotiations were taking place in a “serious and focused atmosphere”.
According to Mr Ulyanov, the Joint Commission will meet again at the end of this week. In the meantime, the experts will continue to draft elements of the future agreement.
A presidential election is scheduled for 18 June in Iran. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)