A top European diplomat said Tuesday he believes international negotiations with Iran will ultimately succeed in re-imposing limits on its nuclear programme, but indicated that more time may be needed.
Enrique Mora, who is coordinating the talks in Vienna, said progress had been made on overcoming key obstacles at the talks.
Mr Mora told reporters outside the hotel where Iranian officials have been meeting with envoys from Russia, China, France, Germany, and Britain, that he could “not say that this is the last round” of talks.
“I don’t know – really. I mean we are closer now, obviously. But I don’t know,” he said.
He added that the delegations had “complained about the presence of some demonstrators close to the premises of the conference,” which he reported to the police on two occasions, he said.
“What happened next, again, I was not informed, it’s not my business, it’s something for the Austrian police,” he added.
A landmark agreement in 2015 imposed strict curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for easing US sanctions but the deal was largely abandoned by the former Trump administration three years later.
The US is not taking part in the Vienna talks but has sent a senior diplomatic delegation to the Austrian capital to discuss the issue with many of the participating envoys, including Russian officials.
The Iran nuclear negotiations have brought about some alignment between Moscow and Washington despite years of recent tension, and is likely to be discussed at Wednesday’s summit meeting in Geneva between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
