Doha May Host New Round of Nuclear Talks

Qatar has the highest chance among Persian Gulf countries of hosting the new round of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, given Doha’s constant efforts to facilitate the resumption of negotiations, according to Iran’s Nour News.
The news agency, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, published the statement following the European Union foreign policy chief’s visit to Tehran on Saturday which culminated in an agreement to restart the talks that have been stalled since March. 
“The most important achievement of [Josep] Borrell’s visit to Tehran could be found in convincing Iranian authorities to continue the negotiations and trying to address the existing problems to move closer to a deal,” the news website said in its article. 
Iranian officials’ insistence on continued presence at the negotiating table and Tehran’s determination to reach a “strong, reliable and lasting agreement” indicate that the window for diplomacy is still open in the Islamic Republic’s view, the agency said. 
The negotiations, which started in April 2021 in the Austrian capital Vienna, aim to restore the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which has been unravelling since the United States pulled out four years ago and reimposed tough sanctions, prompting Tehran to react by rowing back on its commitments. 
Despite agreement on the majority of issues over one year of on-and-off discussions, the negotiations have been in locked in stalemate for months over a few final differences. 
As coordinator of the JCPOA, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell and his team traveled to Tehran following a meeting with the US representative in a bid to find a way out of the impasse. 
He announced afterwards that the talks would resume in the coming days based on decisions made in Washington and Tehran, 
“We agreed on resumption of negotiations between Iran and US in the coming days, facilitated by my team, to solve the last outstanding issues,” Borrell said at a joint press conference with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.  
“And the coming days mean coming days. I mean, quickly, immediately.”

New Format 

He noted in a separate briefing, however, that the new talks will be in a different format.  
“Talks between Iran, the US and the EU will not take place in Vienna because they will not be in the 4+1 format [participated by all JCPOA parties] ... they will probably take place somewhere closer to the Persian Gulf and more specifically in a Persian Gulf state,” Iranian media quoted Borrell as saying.
Sources have speculated that the new venue would be Doha, whose authorities have vowed to use all existing open channels with Iran and the US to bring their ideas closer on ways to restore the JCPOA. 
The subject of the deal has also been discussed during mutual visits by Iranian and Qatari officials over the course of this year. The format is expected to involve the EU coordinator of the JCPOA talks, Enrique Mora, and his team at one hotel, the US team, led by US special envoy on Iran Rob Malley, at another hotel, and the Iranian team, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani at a third hotel, with the EU team shuttling between, the Diplomatic news website reported.
“If the US and Iran differences are able to be overcome, then all sides could then return to Vienna for final discussions,” Borrell suggested.
“I appreciate the good will from the Iranian side,” he said. “There is also good will from the American side… But I still don’t know if both will be able to overcome their respective political differences.”
Amir-Abdollahian said the Iranian team underlined the Islamic Republic’s demands during the meeting with EU officials and declared readiness to return to the talks in the coming days.
Speaking at the news conference, he expressed hope that the US would adopt a “realistic and fair approach” this time and would act responsibly in the course of negotiations until the final stage. 
“What matters to us is complete economic benefit from the deal that was struck in 2015 … whatever affects this full benefit from a revived JCPOA will not be acceptable for Iran,” he said.