TEHRAN — In a tweet posted on July 5, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna said some parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) want to “hit 3 birds with 1 stone.”

“In the context of #ViennaTalks some analysts and officials advocate for addressing new topics such as regional security and missiles. An attempt to hit 3 birds with 1 stone. Unrealistic and counterproductive. The agreed goal of the talks is just to restore the original #JCPOA,” Mikhail Ulyanov said. 

He had earlier stated that technical understandings between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have not been officially extended yet. 

“Under the circumstances it is important to ensure that video cameras at nuclear sites continue to work and video records are preserved. This will allow to avoid problems in future,” he tweeted on July 3. 

On the same note, he said that continued contacts and dialogue between Iran and the IAEA are of paramount importance, “especially at this stage when we can expect full restoration of JCPOA and sanctions lifting soon.”

Under the leadership of former President Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and launched a "maximum pressure" campaign of severe economic sanctions against Iran, prompting Tehran to take corrective action and gradually reduce its nuclear commitments under of the agreement. 

Iran and the remaining parties of the JCPOA (France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China) have been negotiating since early April to allow the United States to rejoin the agreement. 

On June 20, the sixth round of nuclear talks ended and the negotiators returned to the capitals for further consultations. The talks are expected to be resumed in future days.

SA/PA