EU High Representative Josep Borrell indicated that “teams in Vienna made good progress in past weeks. All sides now need to take necessary political decisions, so we can conclude negotiations and get back to full [JCPOA] implementation”. He also asserted that “[it’s] crucial for the IAEA to continue its verification activities”. The same day, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told Borrell that “it would not be acceptable to see… President Joe Biden continue to use the illegal and inhumane sanctions imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump as leverage in the talks”. “A fundamental change in this approach is a sine qua non for the Vienna talks to be fruitful, and this is a political decision that the U.S. president should adopt”, he added.