 Macron says need to 'accelerate' Iran nuclear talks Paris (AFP) Jan 30, 2022 - French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the "need to accelerate" efforts to achieve progress in the Iranian nuclear talks, during a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, aides said Sunday. Macron's call with Raisi on Saturday came a day after the EU mediator said the latest negotiating round in Vienna had been put on pause while calling for "political decisions" to break the deadlock. Diplomats have been meeting in the Austrian capital in the search for a breakthrough to revive the 2015 deal involving Iran, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. "The president has reiterated his conviction that a diplomatic solution is possible and imperative and stressed that any agreement will require clear and sufficient commitment from all the parties," the French presidency said in a statement. "Several months after negotiations resumed in Vienna, (Macron) insisted on the need to accelerate in order to quickly achieve tangible progress in this context," it said. During a "long exchange" with his Iranian counterpart, Macron stressed "the need for Iran to show a constructive approach and return to the complete application of its obligations". The Iranian presidency, in a brief statement after the call, said Tehran had proved its willingness and determination to reach a negotiated deal. Western commitments to bring about a revival of the 2015 agreement needed to include a lifting of Western sanctions and a verification procedure for that process, it said.
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Iran said Monday that differences with the United States remain over the issues of lifting sanctions and obtaining guarantees in Vienna talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
"Important and significant issues remain regarding the removal of sanctions that have not made an agreement possible so far," foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a news conference.
He reiterated calls for guarantees that the US will not withdraw from the 2015 deal, which was derailed in 2018 when the administration of then-president Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the pact.
Khatibzadeh's remarks came as the eighth round of negations to restore the agreement -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- has been on pause since Friday, with the negotiators returning to their capitals for consultations.
The European Union's coordinator for the talks, Enrique Mora, said at the time that "political decisions" are required to break the deadlock, and that talks are expected to resume this week.
The drive to salvage the nuclear deal resumed in late November, after talks were suspended in June as Iran elected ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi.
The deal -- agreed by Iran, the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany -- offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.
But the US reimposed severe economic sanctions after the 2018 withdrawal, prompting Tehran to begin rolling back on its commitments under the deal.
Khatibzadeh nonetheless noted "very significant progress" over the previous three weeks in negotiations over the lifting of sanctions and nuclear commitments, as well as obtaining guarantees.
"We suggest that after returning from their capitals, (other parties) come with necessary decisions so that we can conclude quickly what has been prepared in drafts," he said.
"The other parties know the differences clearly. They need to make political decisions, especially in Washington," he added.
"We await political decisions by Washington upon the return of the US delegation."
The US has participated only indirectly in the talks, which seek to bring Washington back to the accord and to ensure Iran returns to its commitments under the deal.
"We can reach a lasting, reliable and good agreement the day after the return of the negotiators to Vienna" if the other parties make the "right" political decisions, he added.
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