Iran said the next round of talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal is likely to be the last, while European diplomats fretted that time to clinch an agreement is slipping away as an Iranian hardliner prepares to take power.
“We’ve reached a clear text on all the issues and what remains requires the decision of all parties,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday. “It’s not unlikely that the next round of talks will be the last”. Source: Bloomberg
European diplomats in Vienna, Austria, where the Iranian nuclear inspections deal is being negotiated, are sounding more concerned about how close negotiators are to meeting a June 24 expiry of the Iran nuclear inspections pact and that moderate President Hassan Rouhani leaves office in August.
The most difficult issues still need to be resolved, senior European diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations.
Oil markets are closely following the talks for signs of when sanctions might be removed, triggering the return of Iranian crude to the market. They will also be keeping a close eye on the tone that Raisi is likely to set in terms of his attitude toward foreign investment and the return of companies such as Shell and Total.
Decisions relating to the nuclear deal and regional policy ultimately rests with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a cleric who has repeatedly called for Iran to “confront America.”
Opinion: Iran does not care about the sanctions and will not sign a new deal to save face with Khamenei’s supporters. Iran has done a good job protecting cash flow going around the sanctions. They have successfully made the United States irrelevant.
