Talks in Vienna that seek to end the nuclear deal standoff between Iran and the US will pause for a week as negotiators head home for consultations amid signs of progress.
The EU’s deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora said headway had been made since early April, but “much more hard work” was needed.
He said he continued to believe that diplomacy was the "only way forward" to address the challenges.
Iran’s representative Abbas Araghchi said difficulties remained but the meetings were moving forward.
"The Iranian delegation will stop the talks whenever the process of negotiations leads to unreasonable demands, waste of time and irrational bargaining," Iranian state media quoted him as saying.
It is hoped the dialogues in Vienna will pave the way for a return of the US and Iran to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that Tehran signed up to with world powers.
Working groups have been established to formulate solutions to both issues.
The EU said a third group was set up on Tuesday “to start looking into the possible sequencing of respective matters.”
Optimism is building that an agreement can be found after the talks between Iran and China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK, the remaining signatories to the accord.
A US delegation was also present in Vienna, but it has not been dealing directly with Iran.
"It was decided to take a break to allow the delegations to do homework and consult with the capitals,” said Russia’s representative Mikhail Ulyanov.
He said the remain signatories of the 2015 deal took note "with satisfaction of the progress in negotiations to restore the nuclear deal".
China's envoy to the UN's nuclear watchdog, Wang Qun, said the lifting of sanctions was the main unresolved issue.
The talks will resume early next week.
US President Joe Biden wants to return to the deal, which his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. Mr Trump also re-imposed heavy sanctions on Iran as part of his policy of "maximum pressure".
In response, Tehran has repeatedly broken the terms of the agreement. It says it will only return to compliance once the US-imposed financial measures are lifted – something Washington insists it will not do until Iran abides by the 2015 accord.
On Monday, a US State Department spokesman said the US team in Vienna "has been exploring concrete approaches concerning the steps both Iran and the US would need to take to return to mutual compliance."
"The discussions have been thorough and thoughtful, if indirect ... There have been no breakthroughs, but we did not expect this process to be easy or quick," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iranian government said it began enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity to demonstrate its technical ability after a sabotage attack on a nuclear plant in Natanz, to the south of Tehran, but the measure can be reversed if the US lifts sanctions.
Iran blamed the attack on Israel.
Enriching uranium to 60 per cent fissile purity is a major step towards weapons grade from the 20 per cent it achieved some time ago. The 2015 deal capped purity at 3.67 per cent for Iran - suitable for generating civilian nuclear energy.
Tehran has always denied that it is seeking to build an atomic weapon.
"The start of 60 per cent enrichment in Natanz was a demonstration of our technical ability to respond to terrorist sabotage at these facilities," Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told reporters in Tehran.
But he also said the Iranian government assessed "the atmosphere of the Vienna talks as positive.”
“We are cautiously hopeful about an understanding for restoring the nuclear deal, but it is too soon yet to express optimism or pessimism about the final result of the consultations,” he said.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
Mobile phone packages comparison
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
