Iran Demonstrates It Isn’t Serious About Nuclear Talks
By refusing to meet with U.S. representatives, Tehran is signaling that it wants the negotiations in Vienna to fail.
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, shown in 2019.
Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
When negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program finally resume Monday, there will be two notable absences from the venue: America and optimism. At Tehran’s insistence, Washington won’t be at the table at Vienna’s Palais Coburg hotel and instead will communicate through European intermediaries.
This is pantomime wrapped in farce inside a charade. Since the previous round of negotiations five months ago, Iran has repeatedly signaled that it isn’t serious about the restoration of its 2015 deal with the world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. If anything, it has gone out of its way to sabotage the talks.