Russia says window of opportunity to conclude JCPOA revival talks still open

Addressing the quarterly meeting of the Board of Governors chaired by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, Ulyanov said that Russia stresses its eagerness to continue the Vienna talks to finalize the resumption of implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Parts of his speech have been published on his Twitter account, underlining, “The Russian statement on Iran in the IAEA BoG: dear colleagues, all your numerous concerns can be easily removed. For this to happen the participants in the Vienna talks need to come back to Vienna and finalize within a few days draft decision on restoration of the JCPOA.”

He also underscored that the IAEA Board of Governors has just started consideration of its agenda item entitled “Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of UNSC resolution 2231.”

In his Monday remarks, Ulyanov also touched upon positions adopted by the West, Iran, China and Russia with regards to efforts to return to the JCPOA.

“Iran as well as Russia and China are ready to finalize the decision to return to the original parameters of the nuclear deal, which has been almost entirely agreed on,” he stated, adding that the UK, Germany, France and the US are not willing to do so for the time being.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has stressed that the Islamic Republic is steadfastly pursuing diplomacy and negotiations as it tries to revive the 2015 nuclear deal while also trying to protect its national interests at the same time.

The JCPOA was inked in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. However, former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and imposed sanctions on Iran. That comes as negotiations to restore the deal have been going on since April 2022.