Iran nuclear talks: Where do Iran and the US differ?
The US and Iran's two distinct foreign policy views plus unyielding Israel hovering above may compromise the upcoming negotiations.
Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and delegations wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving a 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed on November 27 with Tehran focused on lifting sanctions against it.
Former US President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the nuclear accord and imposed sanctions, including a unilateral US ban on Iran selling its key export of oil.
President Joe Biden supports a return to the agreement but Iran has kept taking steps away from compliance as it presses for sanctions relief.
Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, has warned of military options if the Islamic republic's programme advances and is suspected in a shadowy campaign that has included the assassination of Tehran's top nuclear scientist.
How easy is it to restore the deal?
Here is what the three actors want from the talks.
Iran
Tehran insists all US sanctions must be lifted before steps are taken on the nuclear side. It has also asked the US and allied governments to pledge to allow Iran to export crude oil.
US sanctions have slashed Iran's oil exports, its main revenue source.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said it is "intolerable" if the West demands compliance from Tehran beyond the original deal.
They also want assurance that if they return, then the JCPOA will be binding on future US administrations.
United States
Washington wants Iran's new president to return to the deal after a suitable interval but it won’t wait much longer.
"If [Iran is] dragging their feet at the negotiating table, accelerating their pace with their nuclear program, that will be their answer to whether they want to go back into the deal," Speaking to NPR US negotiator Robert Malley said.
"And it will be a negative one if that's what they choose to do."
Malley told NPR that if Iran doesn't return to the deal, the US would need "other efforts, diplomatic and otherwise, to try to address Iran's nuclear ambitions."
The US has also raised the idea of adding new conditions to the deal that include limiting Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Israel
On November 28, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he is open to a "good" Iran nuclear deal but doesn't believe it's possible looking at how the talks are going.
"At the end of the day, of course there can be a good deal," Bennett said to Israeli Army Radio. "Is that, at the moment, under the current dynamic, expected to happen? No, because a much harder stance is needed."
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Israel opposed the 2015 deal, which gave Iran sanctions relief in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
Bennett reiterated that Israel was not bound by any deal and it can maneuver militarily.
Israel’s stance on the deal could lead to tension with the Biden team, which is eager to close the deal with Tehran.
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