The seventh round of talks in Vienna, Austria, has been evaluated by Russia, China, and the European Union as a positive step for future negotiations, while the United States, Britain, France, and Germany tried to propagate pessimism and put the blame of current situation of the 2015 nuclear deal on Iran's shoulder.
The Western negotiators pursue the blame game and the threatening tactic of short time for returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while some American politicians acknowledge that the Trump administration's withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 was the root cause of the current condition.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview prior to Christmas holidays that the existing situation is a result of one of the worst decisions of the United States' foreign policy within a decade, that is the withdrawal from the JCPOA.
He added that the former US administration vowed to replace the JCPOA with a better agreement, but in fact what has happened is completely in contradiction to the administration's claims.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out political and psychological propaganda campaign by the West, noting that Iran's new proposals should be analyzed; however, the Western powers refuted to accept the Iranian draft texts.
Lavrov told Russia Today that the new Iranian negotiating team continue the Vienna talks professionally.
Wang Quan, China's representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, argued that a reliable structure has been formed for continuation of nuclear talks for three weeks.
However, the West, particularly the US, resorted to warning about death of the JCPOA as a negotiating tactic to put more pressure on Iran and try to get more concessions.
Robert Malley, United States Special Representative for Iran, alleged that time is running out and failure of the negotiations would escalate the crisis.
Ned Price, Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, did not mention the US's role in derailing the nuclear agreement, but claimed that Washington cannot accept Iran's delay in talks and speedup in nuclear activities.
Axios, an American news website, reported that National Security Advisor of the United States Jake Sullivan assured Israeli officials that the White House is ready to take stricter stance on Iran.
The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft published an article written by Daniel Larison, a contributing editor at antiwar.com, who noted that the US is keen on breaching its commitments and tear down contracts.
Excessive use of sanctions against Iran has handcuffed American statesmen in pursuing diplomacy. The US is concerned about other states' commitment while their own compliance with international accords is under question.
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