The second session of the Vienna talks will continue Tuesday after the first session concluded an agreement on a work plan that set dates for two other sessions; the first for lifting sanctions imposed on Iran and the second related to the nuclear program, according to Enrique Mora, the EU official chairing the talks.  

Referring to Iran, Mora confirmed that the Iranians "have accepted that the work done over the first six rounds is a good basis to build our work ahead."

At the same time, Iran's team was clear it wanted to engage in “serious work” to bring the deal back to life, he said.

"We will be of course incorporating the new political sensibilities of the new Iranian administration," he added.

Russia's envoy to the Vienna talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, said the first session "started quite successfully" with a positive atmosphere.

The meeting of the Joint Commission on #JCPOA is over. The participants agreed on further immediate steps during the seventh round of negotiations which started quite successfully. pic.twitter.com/qZyqpaiqFw

— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) November 29, 2021

White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said the US goal of mutual return to full compliance with the JCPOA has not changed.

On the other hand, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein AmirAbdollahian, stated that the opportunity of the Vienna talks "is not a window that could remain open forever, and the US and E3 must well understand this," stressing that there will be no bilateral talks with the US.

Tehran's lead negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told the press in a statement Monday that a number of bilateral talks were held with some of the JCPOA countries, adding that useful talks were held with the Russian and Chinese delegations. 

Bagheri Kani added that Iran is entering the Vienna talks fully prepared to lift the unjust and oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people.

The Iranian negotiating team includes a group of the most prominent Iranian experts in various legal, banking, and energy fields.

Iranian news agency IRNA mentioned that it will become clear that the Iranian government, led by President Ebrahim Raisi, is determined to reach an agreement to secure the interests of Iranians and lift the US sanctions.

Russia's stance

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that "all participants reaffirmed their commitment to further efforts to promptly ensure the full restoration of the nuclear deal," and to "continue intensive interaction to settle the issues that have remained unresolved since the previous round of talks."

In a statement, the Ministry quoted the diplomatic service as saying that "the parties mostly believed that the talks had begun in a positive and constructive way, which was quite encouraging."

"They also emphasized their willingness to arrive at a result as soon as possible," the statement read.

The major powers and Iran met in Vienna on Monday in an attempt to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, with Tehran insisting on its position to lift the sanctions imposed on Iranians.

US diplomats say that time is running out for efforts to revive the agreement, which former US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018, angering Iran and frightening the other major countries concerned, namely Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia.

Read more: Reframing Vienna: What about Iran’s Side of the Story?