The Iranian nuclear program … a meeting to evaluate the Vienna negotiations, and Washington doubts that an agreement will be reached within weeks

The parties to the Iran nuclear deal are scheduled to hold a meeting today, Saturday, to assess the weeks-long negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna, at a time when Washington doubted the possibility of reaching an agreement within weeks, despite the consensus that progress has been made.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the meeting will be held at the level of assistant foreign ministers to discuss and evaluate the course of negotiations until now. Read also Axios: America and Israel agree to neutralize their differences over the Iranian nuclear program Question and answer .. What does Iran want from the return of the nuclear agreement?Foreign Affairs: Israel and Iran are dragging America into the arena of conflict … strict diplomacy is the solution

The sources said that after this meeting, delegations are expected to return to the capitals for consultations.

On Friday, Vienna witnessed meetings between the Iranian delegation headed by chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi and delegations of European countries, and working groups continued their discussions on detailed issues, amid reports of slow progress.

These meetings come after the US delegation announced that Washington was unwilling to lift sanctions not related to the Iranian nuclear file.

The Russian representative to the international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, called on the United States to take the first step for the success of the negotiations, because it was the one that withdrew from his agreement.

Ilyanov added – in a press interview – that he saw no reason why Washington should keep freezing Iranian funds in South Korea and Japan.

The Vienna negotiations seek to revive the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and the major powers, with the United States returning to the agreement – from which the administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 – in exchange for Tehran’s return to implementing its obligations under the same agreement while ensuring that sanctions are lifted. Advertising

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Doubts about the outcome of the negotiations

On the other hand, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said it was not certain that the Vienna talks on Iran’s nuclear program would culminate in an agreement in the coming weeks.

Sullivan added, during a meeting with the American “Aspen” forum, that these talks, which have been ongoing since the beginning of this month, are currently “in a somewhat unclear place.”

Despite his doubts about the possibility of reaching an agreement that would return the United States and Iran to the nuclear agreement, the American official confirmed that the various parties participating in the Vienna meetings, including Iran, are negotiating seriously.

Earlier, US officials and other delegations from other countries confirmed progress in the indirect talks between the Iranians and Americans in the Austrian capital.

On his part, the Israeli ambassador to Washington had suggested the possibility of reaching an agreement between the Iranian and American sides within a few weeks.

The current differences are related to the type of sanctions that Washington should lift, and the steps that Iran should take to return to its obligations under the nuclear deal.