Foreign Ministers of Global Powers Return to Vienna

On Sunday, July 14, in the final days remaining for the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries, the foreign ministers of global powers will join their Iranian and American counterparts in Vienna. According to Reuters, official sources say there are still questions remaining, including how to suspend UN sanctions, which are likely to be decided by the heads of diplomacy of global powers in Vienna. Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, stated on Saturday that while 'many of the contentious issues' regarding the lifting of sanctions against Iran have been resolved, 'four or five important issues' remain. A senior U.S. official told reporters that 'even if issues are resolved at the expert level, some of them still require the presence of the ministers for final decision-making.' AFP reports that it seems the foreign ministers are heading to Vienna for a final effort to achieve a 'major diplomatic success in concluding the nuclear agreement.' Federica Mogherini, the EU's chief foreign policy representative, also stated in a statement that she will travel to the Austrian capital on Sunday to participate in discussions with the foreign ministers of seven countries. U.S. officials have reported that John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign ministers of the U.S. and Iran, met twice on Saturday. Reuters, citing Western and Iranian officials, noted signs of 'compromise' regarding one of the most important remaining issues in the negotiations: access to Iranian sites for monitoring. There are also indications regarding the resolution of the enriched uranium stockpile issue. Reuters states that Tehran and the powers have agreed on transferring it abroad. On Friday, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing an Iranian diplomat in the negotiating team, that Tehran and the six powers have agreed on transferring the enriched uranium stockpile to Russia. A final agreement between the parties could end part of the tensions that have shaped relations between Iran and especially the West over the nuclear program for the past 13 years. These political tensions led to the approval of extensive sanctions by the UN Security Council during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration, as well as unilaterally by the U.S., the European Union, and their allies.