Trust Is Scarce As U.S., Iran Return For Talks On Nuke Deal

Negotiators looking for ways to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal gave little reason for hope of significant progress as they prepared for Monday's talks in Vienna, with both sides questioning the other's commitment to the meeting, Michael Otti reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Photo Insert: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, flanked by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, U.S.Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz, and National Security Council Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf States Robert Malley, sit across from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, the Vice President of Iran for Atomic Energy and President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and other advisers on March 17, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland, before resuming negotiations about the future of Iran's nuclear program.

It has been five months since the last round of talks. Diplomats from Germany, France, Britain, Russia, and China are returning to the Austrian capital to mediate between representatives of Tehran and Washington.

But trust was a precious commodity before the meeting. "We don't think the West wants an agreement," Iranian chief negotiator Ali Bagheri said on the eve of the talks. His US counterpart, Robert Malley, hinted at a tougher stance if Tehran does not relent.

"If Iran chooses - and it really is at this point, I think, an Iranian choice - if they choose not to go back into the deal, then obviously, we're going to have to see other efforts, diplomatic and otherwise, to try to address Iran's nuclear ambitions," he said.

Negotiators now have to see if they can regain the momentum they had achieved during their last round of talks, which saw the outlines of a deal for the US to lift sanctions and Iran to limit its nuclear program.

But, since those last talks, Iran had an election, which ushered in a more conservative government. In an initial setback, the Iranian delegation said it is going to continue its practice of not meeting directly with the Americans, which will require shuttle diplomacy by the other participants.

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