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Iran Expects Nuclear Talks in Vienna to Restart within Days

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hold a joint news conference in Moscow. (AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hold a joint news conference in Moscow. (AFP)
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Iran Expects Nuclear Talks in Vienna to Restart within Days

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hold a joint news conference in Moscow. (AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian hold a joint news conference in Moscow. (AFP)

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in Moscow on Wednesday that he expects negotiations on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to restart in Vienna soon.

The deal, which gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program, has been on life support since 2018 when then-US president Donald Trump withdrew from the accord.

US President Joe Biden has signaled a willingness to return to the deal, but his Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned last week that time was running out and the ball was in Iran's court.

On Wednesday Iran's foreign minister said the nuclear talks could resume soon.

"We are now finalizing consultations on this matter and will soon restore our negotiations in Vienna," Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

In Tehran, parliament's national security and foreign policy commission spokesman Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini said the talks would resume "in coming days".

"The messages and signals from Western countries point to the start of a new cycle of talks," he said, quoted by Iran's Tasmim news agency.

The Iranian side would be led by "the foreign ministry or the Supreme National Security Council", whose decisions must be confirmed by the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

"Normally, the country's broad strategic lines are defined by the Supreme Council and implemented by the foreign ministry," Meshkini said.

Iran has gradually rolled back its nuclear commitments since 2019, a year after Trump withdrew the United States from the multilateral accord and began imposing sanctions.

Despite Biden's decision to reverse Trump's move, talks in Vienna to revive the accord have been at an impasse since June, when Iran's ultraconservative new President Ebrahim Raisi was elected.

Lavrov said Wednesday that the negotiations "should be resumed as soon as possible" and called on the United States to return to its obligations under the accord.

The Russian foreign minister said the international community was waiting for the United States to "return to legal obligations of the nuclear deal" and end "illegal restrictions on Iran and all of its trading partners".

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.