No sanctions key to breakthrough in Vienna: China Daily editorial

With the eighth round of Vienna talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal entering a critical stage, all parties must demonstrate flexibility and sincerity to ensure an agreement can be reached.

Unfortunately, despite recent moves, there has been little sign that the United States and Iran are willing to accommodate each other's demands to the degree necessary to achieve a successful outcome.

Although the US government announced on Friday that it was waiving sanctions on Iran's civilian nuclear program, which allows international nuclear cooperation projects, Iran said on Monday that this is not enough, and again demanded that the US lift all its sanctions on the country.

If the United States thinks the latest olive branch is a huge step forward in keeping everyone at the negotiating table, the latest trading of words shows there is still a wide gap between Washington and Teheran in the ongoing negotiations.

After all, despite all the progress that has been achieved in the eighth round of talks, the US knows what it agreed to in the hard-won 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that was needlessly imploded by the previous US administration.

Under the nuclear agreement reached in June 2015, Iran agreed to some restrictions on the development of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of US and Western sanctions. However, former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Iran, after which Iran responded by abandoning some of its nuclear commitments.

The current US government would be making the right move in returning to the deal. Weighing the pros and cons, and keeping the multilateral deal intact serves both sides' interests. US sanctions have not only put a heavy pressure on Iran's economy but also caused US-Iran ties to deteriorate further and intensified tensions in the Gulf region.

The current impasse is of Washington's making, and it is only right that it should lift all its sanctions on Iran so as to create the right conditions for reviving the nuclear deal. Especially as the sanctions have proven to be futile.

The Vienna talks are expected to resume this week. With all the challenges and crises the world is facing today, it badly needs good news from Vienna. That will not be forthcoming without both sides acting responsibly and in good faith to revive the deal.