Iranian officials renewed their demand for the lifting of U.S. sanctions at the outset of the eighth and “presumably final round” of talks to rehabilitate the 2015 nuclear deal.
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- Amir-Abdollahian projected optimism about the process, saying that the meeting would be organized around “a common and acceptable document on the negotiating table.” U.S. and European officials have underscored that the window of opportunity to return to the 2015 deal, which then-President Donald Trump exited in 2018, is closing due to Iran’s persistent progress to develop nuclear weapons.
- “Yes, [time] is getting very, very, very short,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters last week. “And being able to recover the benefits the full benefits of the JCPOA by returning to compliance with it is getting increasingly problematic by the advances that Iran makes every single day in its nuclear program.”
- The process has been slowed in part by the inability to agree even to direct dialogue between Iran and the United States, which have conducted “indirect talks” with the assistance of the other signatories to the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
- France, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, and the European Union. Iranian officials portray the the three European powers as a “bad cop,” while China has supported Iran’s negotiating position throughout the talks.
SOURCE: WASHINGTONEXAMINER
Political | Process 
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