Tehran Puts Positive Spin On Talks After EU & US Downbeat

Comments hitting wires attributed to the Iranian gov't, states that 'Our assessment of Doha JCPoA talks is positive', and that it is 'determined to continue negotiations'.

• Iran International tweets: "Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdolahian and his Qatari counterpart discussed the Doha talks between Tehran and Washington in a Thursday phone call, and both described the negotiations as “positive”, according to Iranian foreign ministry. Iran’s FM told his Qatari counterpart “Tehran is serious about achieving a good, strong and sustainable deal, and an agreement can be reached should the US be realistic. Iran is determined to continue negotiations until achieving a deal based on realism."
• Seemingly positive comments from Tehran come in stark contrast to US and EU readings of the meetings, which suggest no progress. An EU official stated that no forward progress was made, "which at this point means backwards". Meanwhile, a US State Dep't official stated that "While we are very grateful to the EU for its efforts, we are disappointed that Iran has, yet again, failed to respond positively to the EU's initiative and therefore that no progress was made."
• The US continues to state that Iran is making demands outside the remits of the JCPoA, making ongoing talks irrelevant. Despite Iran seeming positive, the prospect of the lifting of sanctions and Iranian oil reaching global markets seems slim in the short term.