DUBAI:The European Union on Monday (Aug 8) said it put forward a “final” text to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as four days of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials wrapped up in Vienna.
“What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it’s now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted.
“If these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal,” he added as EU, Iranian and US prepared to leave Vienna.
Earlier, a senior EU official told reporters that no more changes could be made to the text, which has been under negotiation for 15 months, and said he expected a final decision from the parties within a “very, very few weeks.”
“It is a package proposal … You cannot agree with page 20 and disagree with page 50. You have to say yes or no,” he said.
A US State Department spokesperson said Washington was ready to quickly reach an agreement to revive the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on the basis of the EU proposals.
Iranian officials suggested that they did not regard the EU proposals as final, saying they would convey their “additional views and considerations” to the European Union, which coordinates the talks, after consultations in Tehran.
Iran has also made demands the United States and other Western powers view as outside the scope of reviving the deal.
For example, Iran has insisted the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, drop its claims Iran has failed to fully explain uranium traces at undeclared sites.
Each side sought to put the onus on the other to compromise.
“They (the Iranians) repeatedly say they are prepared for a return to mutual implementation of the JCPOA. Let’s see if their actions match their words,” the US spokesperson said.
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