U.S. Did Not Say It Ruled Out Progress in Vienna Talks
The Claim
Washington rules out any progress in Vienna talks.
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Emerging story
News outlets and Twitter accounts have recently shared an alleged news piece saying that Washington has ruled out any progress in the Vienna talks.
Description: The screenshots capture the purported claim that was shared on Twitter and media outlets.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s team investigated the circulated claim and found that it was misleading. The headline doesn’t reflect the actual news. The U.S. did not rule out progress in the Vienna talks. Instead, its department of state spokesperson Ned Price said that there has been “some modest progress” but cautioned that it is “too soon to say how substantive that progress may have been” and whether Tehran is interested in building on the gains made in previous meetings.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) also “joined European negotiators in pressing for urgency in rolling back Tehran’s nuclear programme.”
The AFP also quoted the U.S. department of state spokesperson, Ned Price, as saying: “There may have been some modest progress,” but “it is in some ways too soon to say how substantive that progress may have been. At a minimum any progress, we believe, is falling short of Iran's accelerating nuclear steps and is far too slow.”
The claim has been circulating against the backdrop of the resumption of nuclear talks on Dec. 27 amidst Russia’s and Iran’s optimism about the progress and potential outcomes.
The European negotiators on behalf of France, Germany and the U.K. have set a few weeks as a deadline for the talks in Vienna to conclude an agreement that would salvage the 2015-signed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
