Eleven months of talks to restore the deal which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program have reached their final stages with several diplomats saying the nuclear deal was now broadly agreed.
But just as the final issues were being resolved, Russia presented a new obstacle by demanding written guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
“There is still no resolution to the Russia demands,” said one Western diplomat after Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov and the talks’ coordinator, Enrique Mora of the European Union, held talks on Tuesday.
Mora and Ulyanov met again on Wednesday.
A European diplomat said Russia was demanding sweeping guarantees on trade between Moscow and Tehran.
They said the talks were now not likely to end this week.
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