Iran, nuclear deal partners seeking date for Vienna talks, EU says

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the Oct. 27 meeting in Brussels was "useful" and "helped to define a way forward to resume negotiations in Vienna."

 IRANIAN PRESIDENT Ebrahim Raisi visits the Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier this month. (photo credit: OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL WEBSITE / REUTERS)
IRANIAN PRESIDENT Ebrahim Raisi visits the Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier this month.
(photo credit: OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL WEBSITE / REUTERS)

Iran and world powers seeking to revive a 2015 nuclear deal are trying to agree a date for the resumption of talks in Vienna as soon as possible, a European Union spokesperson said on Friday.

Iran's top negotiator said after talks in Brussels this week that negotiations in Vienna will resume by the end of November.

EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the Oct. 27 meeting in Brussels was "useful" and "helped to define a way forward to resume negotiations in Vienna."

"We are working together with other partners, including Iran and other signatories (of the Iran nuclear deal), to fix a concrete date as early as possible to reconvene in Vienna," Stano told a regular briefing.

In April, Tehran and six powers started to discuss ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear pact, which three years ago then-US President Donald Trump abandoned. Trump then re-imposed sanctions on Iran that have devastated its economy by squeezing its oil exports.

 Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Ali Bagheri meets with Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora (not pictured), in Tehran, Iran, October 14, 2021. (credit: Iran's Foreign Ministry/ WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Ali Bagheri meets with Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora (not pictured), in Tehran, Iran, October 14, 2021. (credit: Iran's Foreign Ministry/ WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)

But the talks have been on hold since the election of Iran's hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in June, who is expected to take a tough approach if the talks resume in Vienna.