JCPOA Parties Need to Show Flexibility to Save Deal

Iran’s top negotiator said parties to the 2015 nuclear deal need to show sufficient flexibility to reach a decision if they seek to preserve the faltering agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“Iran already made its hard decision when it remained in the deal after the United States’ exit. It is now the other sides’ turn to make their hard decisions,” Abbas Araqchi said following the latest meeting of the deal’s Joint Commission on Saturday, ISNA reported. 
Current negotiations in Vienna, Austria, are aimed at restoring the nuclear deal which went out of shape when the US pulled out and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, and Iran scaled down its commitments in response to the American “maximum pressure”.
Araqchi said the other parties are now at a point where they need to make a final decision. 
“We are ready to continue the talks until they can reach a decision,” he said, stressing however that Iran will not agree a deal until its key demands are met.  
The sixth round of talks began on Saturday as usual with a meeting of remaining parties to the deal, Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, while the US delegation was based at a nearby hotel.  

Quick Finalization Unlikely 

Diplomats started their informal meetings which will continue over the coming days, according to Araqchi who hoped they can prepare a rather complete image of a final agreement. 
He, however, suggested it was unlikely the talks would conclude before Iran’s presidential election on Friday.
“I don’t think we will be able to reach a final conclusion this week. I think we will have to share the results of the talks with our capitals at least one more time,” he said. 
He said the Iranian delegation seeks a “good and favorable” agreement for the county and will neither hurry nor dawdle along this line.  
“We don’t set a date for ourselves … the talks will continue for as long as needed until we reach our desired result.”
Russia’ envoy also said one cannot expect the finalization of the talks in the days to come. 
“It is almost for sure that we will not be able to clean up the draft final document by the day of the Presidential elections in #Iran [June 18]. Nevertheless an agreement is within reach,” Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter. 
The talks’ chief coordinator, EU foreign policy official Enrique Mora, said they are making progress, but described the negotiations as “intense”, Reuters reported. 
“A number of issues [remain], including on how steps are to be implemented,” he said in a statement to reporters, adding that the aim was “to find ways to get very close to a final agreement in the coming days.”

Complex Situation

Araqchi said they are facing a complex situation which require lengthy discussions, including on the technical, legal and political details of the US return to JCPOA and verification of its measures, as well as the arrangement of the steps Iran needs to take.  
“It is certain that the US must take the first step and implement all its measures, after which Iran would verify and return to its own commitments. But this, itself, requires a timetable,” he said. 
China’s top envoy said the main sticking point was US sanctions, adding that Washington “should stop shilly-shallying by moving decisively to sanction-lifting,”
“Iran’s concerns about this issue are legitimate and reasonable,” Wang Qun told reporters, stressing that in order to resume full compliance with the JCPOA, the US should first lift its unilateral sanctions against Iran “in a complete, clean and thorough manner.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, meanwhile, told Reuters that “playing for time is in no-one’s interest,” urging all sides to show flexibility and pragmatism.