Iran, US, EU to Send Envoys to Vienna for Nuclear Talks

In this file photo taken on May 25, 2022 Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on May 25, 2022 Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP)
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Iran, US, EU to Send Envoys to Vienna for Nuclear Talks

In this file photo taken on May 25, 2022 Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on May 25, 2022 Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP)

Iran, the United States and the European Union said Wednesday they would send representatives to Vienna amid what appears to be a last-ditch effort at reviving talks over Tehran's tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

It wasn't immediately clear if other parties to the accord would attend the surprise summit, nor if there had been any progress after a monthslong stalemate and recent fruitless round of indirect talks between Iran and the US in Doha.

The European Union official who chairs the talks, Enrique Mora, said the negotiations would focus on the most recent draft to restore the agreement, while Tehran said it was dispatching nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani to the Austrian capital.

US Special Representative for Iran Rob Malley wrote on Twitter that he was preparing to travel to Vienna for talks. He cautioned that American “expectations are in check" ahead of the negotiations.

“The United States welcomes EU efforts and is prepared for a good faith attempt to reach a deal. It will shortly be clear if Iran is prepared for the same," Malley added.

Russia’s chief representative at the talks, Mikhail Ulyanov, also wrote on Twitter that negotiators from Russia, a key signatory of the nuclear deal, “stand ready for constructive talks in order to finalize the agreement.”

The prospects for the deal's restoration have darkened in the past few months with major sticking points remaining, including Tehran's demand that Washington provide guarantees that it won’t again quit the pact and that it lift terrorism sanctions on Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

The abruptly called meeting in Vienna comes after EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has repeatedly pushed to break the deadlock and salvage the deal in past weeks. He recently wrote in The Financial Times that “the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted.”

Former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 deal, which lifted most international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Since then, Iran has massively expanded its nuclear work and now has enough highly enriched uranium to fuel one nuclear weapon, according to nonproliferation experts.

However, Iran still would need to design a bomb and a delivery system for it, likely a monthslong project. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though UN experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003.



Trump Says it's Possible that Putin Doesn't Want to Make a Deal on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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Trump Says it's Possible that Putin Doesn't Want to Make a Deal on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would move forward toward ending the war in Ukraine, but conceded that it was possible the Russian leader didn't want to make a deal.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem, to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they're all tired of it, but you never know," Trump said in an interview with the Fox News "Fox & Friends" program, Reuters reported.

"We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks ... It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal," Trump said, adding that Putin faced a "rough situation" if that was not the case.