Tehran: Absence of US Decision the Only Obstacle in Vienna

Kamal Kharazi and Robert Malley participate in separate sessions of the Doha Forum, EPA
Kamal Kharazi and Robert Malley participate in separate sessions of the Doha Forum, EPA
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Tehran: Absence of US Decision the Only Obstacle in Vienna

Kamal Kharazi and Robert Malley participate in separate sessions of the Doha Forum, EPA
Kamal Kharazi and Robert Malley participate in separate sessions of the Doha Forum, EPA

Iran informed the European mediator at the Vienna talks that the “political decision” in Washington was the “last obstacle” to reaching an agreement, calling for US “realism.”

However, US Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley expressed doubts about reaching an agreement, stressing that sanctions will be kept on Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. Malley revealed that no decision has been reached on removing the Iranian military apparatus from the list of terrorist organizations.

Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service and coordinator for nuclear talks, had met with the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran.

In a short meeting, Amir-Abdollahian told Mora that the main obstacle now facing the Vienna talks is the absence of a US decision.

“The other parties, especially the US government, should follow a realistic approach to resolving the remaining issue,” the minister told Mora, according to Fars News Agency.

Other officials who discussed the Vienna talks with Mora include the Iranian top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

Mora, who coordinates talks between Iran and the US, arrived in Tehran late Saturday and on Sunday met Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri, state news agency IRNA reported.

“Bagheri stressed that an agreement can be reached if the American side is realistic,” it added.

Mora is expected to meet other officials, according to IRNA.

“Working on closing the remaining gaps in the Vienna talks on the JCPOA,” Mora tweeted ahead of his trip. “We must conclude this negotiation. Much is at stake.”

His visit comes as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday saw a renewed accord within “days.”

“We are very close but there are still some issues pending,” Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

“I cannot tell you when or how, but it is a matter of days.”

Parties have signaled for weeks that the negotiations are close to an agreement, but that “political decisions” are required from Tehran and Washington.



Ukraine Drone Attacks Target Moscow, Kill One in Russia's Southwest, Russia Says

An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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Ukraine Drone Attacks Target Moscow, Kill One in Russia's Southwest, Russia Says

An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Ukraine's overnight drone attacks targeted Moscow and scores of other Russian regions, killing one person and damaging an agricultural enterprise in the country's southwest, Russian authorities said on Friday.

Russian air defenses downed 155 Ukrainian drones between 11 p.m. on Thursday (2000 GMT) and 7 a.m. on Friday, including 11 bound for Moscow, Russia's defense ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Three of the four airports serving the Russian capital, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky, suspended operations temporarily but later resumed, Russia's aviation authority Rosaviatsia said late on Thursday. A drone crashed onto the territory of an agricultural enterprise in the Lipetsk region, sparking a short-lived fire and killing one person and injuring another, regional governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.

The Russian defense ministry said that its air defense systems destroyed four drones over the Lipetsk region that lies in Russia's southwest. The ministry only reports the number of drones that its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launched, said Reuters.

Most of the drones overnight were destroyed over Russian regions bordering Ukraine: Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, the ministry added.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Kyiv says its attacks on the territory of Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts and are in response to Russia's continued strikes on Ukraine throughout the war.