Russian rift puts Iran nuclear talks on hold

European hosts in Vienna confirmed Friday the discussions to restore the Iran nuclear deal are on pause. Last week, Russia demanded relief from widespread sanctions and asked for guarantees that the U.S.-imposed sanctions would not taint the Russia-Tehran relationship. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said “external factors” forced the pause in talks, even as negotiators were readying a podium for final ceremonies.

What were the talks about? President Joe Biden made it an administration priority to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the Trump administration withdrew from in 2018. Negotiators for the seven countries involved have been huddled in Vienna for most of the past year working on restoring the agreement, which would lower sanctions on Iran in exchange for it scaling back its nuclear program.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard interview former Defense Department staffer Robert Wilkie about Iran’s diplomacy on The World and Everything in It podcast.