Iran nuclear deal parties meet amid US pressure
The signatories to the faltering Iran nuclear deal meet in Vienna on Tuesday as the US is urging international sanctions on the Islamic republic to be reimposed and an arms embargo to be extended.
Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia are struggling to save the 2015 landmark accord with Iran, which has been progressively stepping up its nuclear activities since last year.
Tehran insists it is entitled to do so under the deal -- which swapped sanctions relief for Iran's agreement to scale back its nuclear programme -- following the US withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the reimposition of sanctions.
In a boost to Tuesday's talks, the Iranian atomic energy last week agreed for inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog to visit two sites suspected of having hosted undeclared activity in the early 2000s.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi had travelled to Iran on his first trip since taking up the top post last year and after months of calling for access.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's Ambassador to International Organisations in Vienna, noted Monday on Twitter that "nuclear deal participants have a lot of topics to discuss".
The meeting will be chaired by EU senior official Helga-Maria Schmid with deputy foreign ministers or political directors from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia attending.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an associate fellow of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said last week's agreement on access kept "Iran generally in line with the rest of the world, against an isolated United States".
The United Nations last week blocked the US bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran, while Washington also failed to rally enough support to extend an arms embargo set to start to lapse from October.
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