Iran Nuclear Talks Appear Stalled Again

The newly restarted Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran nuclear talks in Doha, Qatar appear to have collapsed following reports that the United States' and Iranian delegations have refused to compromise on economic issues.

• Middle East Analyst Karin Kneissl: "So the Doha talks on a revised JCPOA came apparently to a quick end. It was somehow to be expected. Iran has simply much better cards than in 2015."
• Stephanie Lichenstein, one of the key reporters covering the talks, wrote a short time ago: "According to two of my sources the parties are still working right now, but talks in Doha are likely to end tonight."
• Abas Aslani of CMESS: "As far as I know, the talks in Doha are not over yet... [Iranian negotiator] Ali Bagheri is scheduled to meet with [EU negotiator] Enrique Mora tonight..."
• Aslani says that at this moment it is too "early to talk about the result of the talks."
• Talks had been scheduled to end on Friday with a possibility of extension, however there was little optimism amongst US and Iran negotiators from the outset.
• The potential collapse of talks comes as Iran has experienced increased success at cultivating multilateral relationships. This week, Iran was announced as a formal candidate to BRICS.
• Today, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the leaders’ summit of Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
• A closer relationships between Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow, all three of whom are signatories to the 2015 JCPOA deal, suggests that both political will and economic necessity for a revised accord may be diminishing.