Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the resolution of the nuclear issue lies in a return to the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015.
“It is obvious to everyone, to the 5+1, Europe and the region, that the deal should be implemented accurately ... no more and no less,” he stated during a Cabinet meeting, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
Rouhani made the remark a day after the deputy secretary-general of the E.U.'s diplomatic service, Enrique Mora, expressed satisfaction with the progress made in Vienna in negotiations regarding a possible return to the JCPOA.
Mora, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, tweeted: “Joint Commission today. Progress made over the last two weeks. But much more hard work needed. Third expert group was created to address sequencing issues. I continue to think that diplomacy is only way forward for the #JCPOA to address ongoing challenges.”
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Joint Commission said that talks would resume next week towards “the possible return of the U.S. to the JCPOA and its full and effective implementation.”
In his daily briefing on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the United States and Iran “have together a stated common objective of returning to mutual compliance with the JCPOA. We have been engaged constructively in a diplomatic process to achieve that goal.”
He characterized the talks as “businesslike” and “positive,” but warned that “there remains a long road ahead.”
“I think it’s fair to say that we have more road ahead of us than we do in the rearview mirror,” he said.
