Talks for the US and Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal continued in Vienna over the weekend, even as Iranian proxies Hamas and Islamic Jihad continued to bombard Israel’s cities with rockets.
Russian Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted on Sunday that he met with US Envoy for Iran Negotiations Rob Malley.
“We and our teams had a frank and fruitful discussion on major issues related to the Vienna talks on restoration of the JCPOA,” he wrote, using the abbreviation for the Iran deal’s name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“The Vienna talks on JCPOA are conducted in various informal settings, as well as in the working groups on sanctions lifting, nuclear issues and practical measures to restore the deal,” Ulyanov specified on Saturday. “The drafting process is underway. If the need arises a joint commission can be convened.”
The Vienna talks on #JCPOA are conducted in various informal settings, as well as in the working groups on #sanctions lifting, nuclear issues and practical measures to restore the deal. The drafting process is under way. If the need arises a Joint Commission can be convened. https://t.co/EoazrUyH8r
— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) May 15, 2021
The US and Iran entered indirect negotiations for Iran to return to compliance with the JCPOA and the US to lift sanctions earlier this year, and have held four rounds of talks thus far. Iran began enrichment up to 60% last month, an unprecedented level far beyond the 5% that the nuclear deal permits.
The US left the Iran deal in 2018, with the Trump administration moving to a heavy sanctions regime on the Islamic Republic; the Biden administration seeks to return to the JCPOA and negotiate a “longer and stronger” version of the agreement.
Israel opposes a return to the Iran deal, because it expires in 2030, giving Tehran the international legitimacy to develop a nuclear weapon, and because it does not address Iran’s missile program or funding for terrorist proxies in the region.
Among those proxies are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which have shot over 3,000 rockets at Israeli civilian areas in the past week.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force leader Esmail Ghaani spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh over the weekend about the latest developments in Gaza, Iranian Tasnim news reported.
Ghaani “reiterated the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the Palestinian nation and the Palestinian resistance in the face of the incessant aggression and crimes of the Zionist enemy against Jerusalem and Gaza,” Tasnim reported.
The IRGC commander “praised the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in support of the nation and the just cause of Palestine.”
Last week, another leading IRGC figure, Hossein Salami, warned that Israel is vulnerable to a maritime attack, because it is so small.
Another Iranian proxy, which shares Iran and Hamas’s goal of destroying Israel is Lebanese Shia terrorist group Hezbollah.
Last week, Austria’s council of ministers banned Hezbollah outright, going farther than the European Union policy of outlawing the Lebanese terrorist group’s military arm, but fabricating a political arm that could remain legal.
On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg raised Israeli flags on top of their offices, in support of Israel in its fight against Hamas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif canceled a planned trip to Vienna to meet with Schallenberg in light of Austria’s open support for Israel.
“We regret this and take note of it, but for us it is as clear as day that when Hamas fires more than 2,000 rockets at civilian targets in Israel then we will not remain silent,” a spokeswoman for Schallenberg said.
In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told the semi-official news agency ISNA: “Mr. Zarif did not consider the trip beneficial in these circumstances, and therefore the travel arrangements were not finalized.”
Abbas Araqhchi, who heads the Iranian delegation at the Vienna talks, criticized Austria for showing support for Israel.
“Vienna is the seat of [nuclear watchdog] IAEA & UN, and [Austria] so far been a great host for negotiations,” Araqhchi wrote on Twitter. “Shocking & painful to see flag of the occupying regime, that brutally killed tens of innocent civilians, inc[luding] many children in just few days, over govt offices in Vienna. We stand with Palestine.”
Seth Frantzman and Reuters contributed to this report.