The JCPOA nuclear talks in Vienna appear to be temporarily on hold, with the US saying there is an impasse and blaming Iran for it. Iran, on the other hand, says they believe the talks should just wait until their new president takes power.
President-elect Ebrahim Raisi won the recent election in Iran. At the time, talks were ongoing and continued with the outgoing government, in hopes of making a last minute deal. With three weeks until inauguration and the talks struggling, Iran wants to just wait, and restart after the change of power, according to Deputy FM Abbas Araghchi.
This means the expectation is that talks will restart after the August 9 inauguration with a new government in power in Iran. Though reports emphasized that they expect Iran’s new conservative government to be tougher in negotiations, comments from Raisi’s team have suggested their goal is similar to Rouhani’s, that Iran wants sanctions relief first and foremost.
This means the sincerity of everyone in the talks is going to be put on trial quickly. It will be quite apparent if Raisi isn’t coming to the table with a clear-cut plan to make a deal, but even more clear if the US ends up treating this new round of talks as a chance to vilify Raisi on their way out of the talks with no deal.
“This means the sincerity of everyone in the talks is going to be put on trial quickly.”
One side was sincere from the start. One side wasn’t. Should be a quick trial.