 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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A senior US official said Monday that time was running out for nuclear negotiations with Iran and urged Tehran to agree to direct talks to help forge a deal.
Speaking on background, the official said that Iran's nuclear program was nearing "breakout" toward nuclear weapons capability, leaving just "weeks" to reach a deal that would put the program on hold and ease sanctions on the country.
"I think we're at the point where some of the most critical political decisions have to be made by all sides" in the talks to revive the 2015 deal involving Iran, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, the official said.
"If our goal is to reach an understanding quickly... the optimal way to do that, in any negotiation, is for the parties that have the most at stake to meet directly," the official said, referring to the United States and Iran.
"That's been our view from the outset: we're prepared to meet with Iran if they're prepared to meet with us."
The official said Iran's enrichment program was very close to producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
It would be "deeply unfortunate" if the two sides did not have direct talks, "given how little time is left, given how critical... the decisions that need to be made are," the official said.
The latest round of talks in Vienna to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, were put on pause last week, with the European Union's coordinator calling for "political decisions" to break the deadlock.
The original deal had given Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
But after the United States pulled out and reimposed sanctions under Donald Trump in 2018, Iran began dramatically stepping up nuclear activities.
Joe Biden's presidency helped relaunch the negotiations, but Washington has been taking part only indirectly, leaving the Europeans to meet the Iranians.
One week ago, Iran for the first time said it was open to direct negotiations with the United States, which quickly declared itself ready to hold talks "urgently."
The US official said Monday that not all of the details in a possible agreement had been resolved.
"But we are prepared to make those choices," the official said.
"We can see a path to a deal if those decisions are made and if it's done quickly."
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