John Irish

DOHA (Reuters – Talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement are set for a resumption on Thursday. However, France’s foreign minister stated that he is not optimistic and fears Iran may be playing for time.

Jean-Yves Le Drian (French Foreign Minister) stated, “The elements…aren’t very encouraging.” He spoke to a French Parliament committee about the seventh round in nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations began on Nov. 29th and ended on Friday.

Le Drian shared the belief that Iran wants to end the talks. The longer they hold them back, the closer they get to nuclear weapons capability.

In 2015, Iran and six other major powers reached a deal that limited Iran’s nuclear program. This was in exchange for sanctions relief by the U.S., European Union, and U.N.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled America out of the agreement and reimposed severe sanctions. Iran started violating nuclear restrictions one year later.

Le Drian confirmed that talks would resume on Thursday as he agreed with Iranian media reports. An American State Department senior official stated that Washington didn’t yet know a date.

Indirect U.S.-Iranian negotiations in Vienna in which diplomats of other countries shuttle between them, because Tehran rejects direct talks, are intended to force both sides into compliance with the agreement.

Last week, however, the discussions ended with European and U.S. representatives expressing dismay at broad demands made by Iran’s hardline government led by anti-Western President Ebrahim Rashi, who was elected in June, which caused a 5-month delay to the negotiations.

Senior U.S. officials said Saturday that Iran has abandoned the six previous rounds of negotiations, but took other people’s compromises, and asked for more.

Bill Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, stated Monday that the agency did not think Iran’s supreme Leader has taken steps to “weaponize a nuclear device.” However, Burns noted that the Agency has made progress in enriching uranium which is one way to a fissile material to be used to build a bomb.

Iran says it doesn’t seek nukes and only desires to use nuclear technology in peaceful ways.

Burns stated that there is no evidence to suggest that Iran’s Supreme Leader has decided to arm himself.

Burns described Iran’s problem as a three-legged race to acquire fissile matter, then to use that material as weapons by putting it in a device to produce a nuclear blast and mating it with a delivery system like a ballistic missile.

Burns stated that the Iranians have “still have a lot to do there, as far as our judgment it.”