TEHRAN – After a week of intensive negotiations, diplomats from Iran and major world powers finished the current round of talks and decided on a return to Vienna next week. 

The Joint Commission of the Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), convened a session on Friday afternoon at Vienna’s Coburg Hotel.

Enrique Mora, the EU Deputy Director General for External Action Service, and Iran’s top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani presided over the session.

At the meeting which was held with the delegations of Iran and P4+1 group (Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany) and the European Union in attendance, the participants reviewed the results and progress made during this round of talks in light of the draft documents presented by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Some delegations asked for returning to their respective capitals for consultations and receiving new instructions. Hence, the negotiating teams agreed to a hiatus in talks so that discussions will resume next week after delegations return to Vienna from their countries, the Iranian foreign ministry said. 

During the current round of talks, Iranian negotiators presented two draft proposals regarding sanctions- and nuclear-related steps to be taken if talks were to lead to an agreement. In a bid to push the talks forward, Iran drafted the proposals in strict accordance with the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to Press TV.

The state-run news television, quoting a source with knowledge of the Vienna talks, said the Iranian-drafted proposals are “in full conformity with the 2015 nuclear agreement and the principles contained therein.”

The source lamented a lack of seriousness on the European side. “Regrettably, some European parties have mistaken the negotiating table for a platform to dictate their positions and demands,” the source said, adding, “Some parties have not come to the diplomatic maturity that the survival and endurance of the JCPOA depend on the commitment of all parties to their obligations, and some parties’ refusal to implement their commitments indicates that they are not serious in the negotiations.”

Iran also prepared a third proposal but it has not put it on the table yet. It seems that putting forth this proposal is dependent on the West’s response to the previous proposals.

Bagheri Kani has said that Iran gave time to the P4+1 group of countries to provide reasonable and documented responses to Tehran’s proposed drafts. “It was emphasized that the proposals of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the removal of illegal and oppressive sanctions and the nuclear issue are on the table,” he said before leaving Vienna for Tehran. 

The lead Iranian negotiator added, “Since the opposite side needed to consult with their capitals to provide a documented and reasonable response to these proposals, it suggested that the talks be suspended for a few days.”

Baqeri Kani announced Thursday that Iran has submitted two proposed drafts to the other parties concerning the removal of sanctions and Tehran’s nuclear commitments, and is about to put forward a third draft. 

The website of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said on Friday that the Europeans’ lack of initiative in the face of the Iranian team’s “groundbreaking” proposals is dragging down negotiations in Vienna.

“The first document sums up the Islamic Republic's point of view concerning the removal of sanctions, while the second is about Iran's nuclear actions,” Iran's top security body quoted Baqeri Kani as saying.

“In the third document to be presented to the other parties, Iran will state its views and proposals with regard to the verification period of removing sanctions,” he added, according to Fars News.