US is prepared to lift sanctions on Iran that are 'inconsistent' with 2015 nuclear deal after talks in Vienna as President Rouhani hails 'new chapter' under Biden
The United States is considering lifting some sanctions on Iran, after two days of talks in Vienna - the first time that Iranian diplomats were in the same meeting hall as their counterparts from the Biden administration.
The move is aimed at restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - the nuclear deal signed under President Obama in 2015 but ripped up by his successor Donald Trump.
Sanctions which were 'inconsistent' with the nuclear deal could now be lifted, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.
'We are prepared to take the steps necessary to return to compliance with the JCPOA, including by lifting sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA,' said Price.
'I am not in a position here to give you chapter and verse on what those might be.'
Price spoke after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that talks in Vienna on rescuing the troubled nuclear deal had opened a 'new chapter'.
Ned Price, spokesman for the State Department, is seen on Wednesday discussing Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gives an upbeat assessment to his cabinet of Tuesday's opening round of nuclear talks in Vienna
An Iranian delegation met on Tuesday with representatives of the remaining parties to the agreement to discuss how to bring Washington back into it, and end crippling U.S. sanctions and Iranian countermeasures.
President Joe Biden has said he is ready to reverse the decision of his predecessor to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose unilateral sanctions.
But differences remain over the mechanics of the move as Tehran has since responded by suspending compliance with some of its own obligations under the deal.
The United States was not present at Tuesday's discussions because Iran has refused to meet the U.S. delegation so long as its sanctions remain in place.
Instead, the European Union acted as an intermediary, but all sides gave a positive assessment of the opening talks.
'A new chapter has just been opened yesterday,' Rouhani told a cabinet meeting Wednesday.
'If (Washington) shows it is honest and sincere, that's all we ask... I think we'll be able to negotiate in a short time, if necessary, with the (other parties to the deal).'
Price said that the United States still believed 'this is a constructive forum'.
'The talks so far have been business-like and they are doing what we envisioned they would,' Price told reporters.
Joe Biden, seen on Wednesday, campaigned on a promise to join the Iran nuclear deal
'They are affording us a better understanding of Iran's thinking and we hope that in turn Tehran will leave this round of talks with a better understanding of what we might be prepared to do.'
The US delegation has set up at a different hotel in Vienna, with EU negotiators acting as go-betweens.
Diplomats said the working groups, which are chaired by the European Union and exclude the United States, met on Wednesday and suggested they would know in a matter of weeks whether they might bear fruit before Iran's June 18 presidential elections.
At the same time, two groups of experts - on lifting sanctions and nuclear issues - are working 'to identify concrete measures to be taken by Washington and Tehran' to restore the deal, Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said.
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