EU envoy visits Iran to close gaps on nuclear deal

TEHRAN — The EU’s coordinator for talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal met Iran’s foreign minister and its chief negotiator on Sunday in Tehran, state media reported, aiming to bridge gaps in the talks.

“Working on closing the remaining gaps in the #ViennaTalks,” European Union diplomat Enrique Mora tweeted ahead of his trip. “We must conclude this negotiation. Much is at stake.”

Iran has been engaged in efforts to revive the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly since April 2021.

Mora, who coordinates the indirect US-Iran talks arrived in Tehran late Saturday and on Sunday met Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, state news agency IRNA reported.

Parties have signalled for weeks that the negotiations are close to an agreement, but that “political decisions” are required from Tehran and Washington.

“The lack of a US political decision to lift sanctions tied to the economic benefits of the Iranian people is the current obstacle to achieving the final results,” Amir-Abdollahian said during the meeting.

“Enjoying full economic benefits and the effective lifting of sanctions is our top priority,” he added, quoted in a foreign ministry statement.

Iran’s top diplomat said “other parties, especially the US government, must take a realistic approach to resolving the remaining issues”.

Mora’s visit comes as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell indicated that a deal would be reached to renew the accord within days.

“We are very close but there are still some issues pending,” Borrell told reporters Saturday on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

“I cannot tell you when or how, but it is a matter of days.”

The 2015 deal gave Iran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme that would guarantee it could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied seeking.

The deal fell apart in 2018 after the US, under then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.

Tehran retaliated by rolling back most of its commitments from 2019.

Amir-Abdollahian has said one of the key outstanding issues is removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a US terrorist list.

Senior Guard officials have suggested the issue be dropped if a deal would ensure Iran’s “national interests”, Amir-Abdollahian said Saturday.

The US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, said in Qatar on Sunday that Washington would maintain sanctions on the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran’s military.

“The IRGC will remain sanctioned under US law and our perception of the IRGC will remain,” Malley said.