Representatives of Iran and the other signatories of its 2015 nuclear deal will be in Austria starting November 29 to try to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US abandoned in 2018.
Iran, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany will resume six rounds of talks that stopped in June to allow Iran's new president, Ebrahim Raisi, to form his administration.
As before, the US will participate indirectly in negotiations that if successful will see harsh US sanctions on Iran lifted, and bring Iran back to full compliance with the terms of the accord.
Iran has previously said it is ready for a "good agreement" in Vienna, but the US must accept responsibility for reneging on the JCPOA, lift all sanctions imposed since 2018 at once, and guarantee it will not leave the deal again.
But the US has said it is prepared to lift sanctions "inconsistent" with the accord, signalling it wishes to keep some of the human rights and "terrorism" sanctions imposed over the past three years. It has also said time to reach an agreement is running out as Iran's nuclear programme continues to advance.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is expected to meet Iran's new foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, in Tehran for the first time on Tuesday.
Grossi is expected to discuss IAEA monitoring in Iran, which has been restricted as part of the country's response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, and in response to the assassination of a top nuclear scientist and several attacks on nuclear sites. Iran has blamed the attacks on Israel.(mr/aje)
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