Doha likely to host fresh round of Iranian nuke talks

Tehran, June 27: The new round of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal is very likely to be held in Qatar's capital Doha, Iranian media has reported. News outlet - Nournews, affiliated with the country's Supreme National Security Council, tweeted that Qatar stands a "better chance of hosting the forthcoming talks" because of its "ongoing efforts to resume talks on lifting sanctions", Xinhua news agency reported.

At a joint televised press conference on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the visiting European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that the talks would be resumed in the coming days to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Austria's capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA to revive the deal.

Iran signed the JCPOA with the world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks have been suspended since March when it was believed to be only a step away from a final agreement, raising deep concerns about their prospect.