Vienna/Tehran/Washington: Indirect talks have started between Iran and the United States to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. US state department spokesman, Ned Price, said that the United States has taken constructive steps to salvage the nuclear deal. Iran has warned that this is the opportunity for President Biden to fulfil the promise made regarding the nuclear deal’s revival during his election campaign.
Since Tuesday, indirect talks have started between the US and Iranian representatives in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The European Union has adopted the position of a mediator. Before the discussion, US state department spokesman Ned Price clarified that the US Biden administration is willing to hold direct talks with Iran. Ned Price said that this is the first round of discussions between the two countries, and therefore, too much success is not expected from these talks. Still, the United States has taken constructive steps in that direction.
Iranian spokesman Ali Rabiei asserted that if the Biden administration feels that Iran should join the nuclear deal, then it has no option other than being firm regarding the terms of the agreement. Rabiei clarified before the Vienna meeting, ‘The United States will have to immediately withdraw the sanctions imposed on Iran stepping out of the scope of the agreement. The concerned member countries will have to take an early decision when to join the agreement. There is no other option.’
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, launched an attack on the Biden administration. Last year, Biden announced that the United States would join the 2015 nuclear deal during his election campaign. Ravanchi criticised that even after one and a half month after assuming power, the Biden administration has not taken steps to join the agreement. Ravanchi said during the Tuesday meeting that Iran would stop the nuclear activities only if the United States freed Iran from the shackles of sanctions. The Biden administration has completely failed in its stand regarding Iran. Ravanchi claimed that everyone would benefit from this single decision.
In 2015, an agreement, ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of action’ (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the European Union. 
The then US President Barack Obama had taken the initiative for this deal with Iran. The agreement was signed by the next elected President, Donald Trump. Trump accused that Iran was developing nuclear weapons under the cover of the contract. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed harsh sanctions against Iran.
It had already been revealed that Biden, after taking over as the President, would sign a new nuclear agreement with Iran. But it is not easy to take this decision. The opposition in the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries are closely watching President Biden’s stand regarding Iran. At the same time, the increasing Iranian aggression is adding to the woes of the Biden administration. In this scenario, the Biden administration is trying to create a conducive atmosphere to join the nuclear deal with Iran through these indirect talks.
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