Iran talks: Biden administration plans public messaging campaign

Progress is being made in Vienna but diplomats hope to speed things up

EU envoy Enrique Mora and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani take part in a JCPOA meeting in Vienna in December. Reuters

A third working group met in Vienna on Wednesday to discuss the US-Iran nuclear deal for the first time – a sign that the smaller meetings during this eighth round of talks have been progressing well.

The group will discuss how sanctions will be lifted once Iran complies with the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The signs of progress have been confirmed by diplomats at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, where talks are taking place. The US Iran envoy Rob Malley met with Russia's counterpart, Mikhail Ulyanov, on Wednesday.

Mr Malley on Twitter called the meeting "a productive discussion on the remaining most difficult issues to be settled".

"The feeling is that the negotiations are moving forward," he said.

Although the US has kept relatively quiet on the progress of the deals, calling the moves forward modest, a new report from Axios says the White House will be planning on rolling out a public messaging campaign in the coming weeks, blaming former president Trump for the political crisis with Iran.

Mr Trump famously exited the JCPOA in 2018 in hopes of achieving a better deal with Iran than his predecessor president Obama had.

Mr Trump's exit from the deal came despite Iran's continued compliance within the parameters of the JCPOA. At the time, he was told about the consequences of the US violating the nuclear accord first and concerns of a potential nuclear crisis.

Despite his hopes for a better deal and the effort to draw Iran to the table through economic sanctions, Mr Trump's strategy failed and led to more serious concerns over Iran's nuclear enrichment.

According to the report from Axios, the Biden administration is keen to focus on highlighting Mr Trump's critical error, making it clear to the American people how the US was drawn into this crisis.