There was a cloud of uncertainty in Israel on Monday as the United States was poised to enter indirect talks with Iran about resuming compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The talks begin on Tuesday.
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Iran and the United States said on Friday they would hold indirect talks in Vienna on Tuesday as part of a wider effort to revive the nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The US on Monday officially announced that it was "ready to take the necessary steps to return to the nuclear deal." In response to an Israel Hayom query, a spokesperson for the US State Department explained that the goal of the talks in Austria was to "identify the requisite issues for the US and Iran to mutually return to compliance with the deal."
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the other parties to the nuclear deal, will spearhead the talks in an official capacity.
US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley, a veteran of the Clinton and Obama administrations, will lead the US delegation to the talks.
The State Department on Friday said it expected that reaching a deal would be difficult and that any early breakthrough was not foreseeable.
Tehran has ruled out face-to-face bilateral discussions and State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters at his daily briefing on Monday that the United States did not expect any "at present" but remained open to the possibility.
"We don't underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead," Price said. "These are early days. We don't anticipate an early or immediate breakthrough as these discussions, we fully expect, will be difficult."
"We certainly will not entertain unilateral gestures or concessions to induce Iran to a better place," Price added.
The Biden administration is maintaining contact with Israel on this matter through three primary channels.
National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat is in continual contact with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, meanwhile, discussed the matter in a phone call with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Friday. Additionally, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan is in contact with US officials in Washington.
On the Israeli side, officials have reached contrasting conclusions about the administration's goal. Some senior Israeli officials believe the chances of the US returning to the nuclear deal are slim, mainly due to Iran's obstinate refusal to compromise. Others, however, believe it is only a matter of time before Washington returns to the deal and finds the right formula that helps the Biden administration save face as it retreats from its initial declarations. According to these officials, the administration is troubled by domestic and international issues it deems far more pressing, namely the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact.
In the international arena, the Biden administration is working to block China. Within this context, it does not want to waste resources on the Iranian problem, which it views as lower on its list of priorities. An American official told Israel Hayom in this regard that the current situation, where Tehran is violating the deal but remains under heavy sanctions, is preferable to restoring the understandings of the original deal.
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