After a Joint Commission meeting in Vienna, EU High Representative Enrique Mora indicated that “there’s unity and ambition for a joint diplomatic process with two expert groups on nuclear implementation and sanctions lifting”. “As [JCPOA] Coordinator I will intensify separate contacts… with all relevant parties, including [the] U.S.”, Mora added. Iran’s deputy foreign minister called the discussions “constructive”, while a government spokesperson remarked that “we are not optimistic or pessimistic… but we are confident that we are on the right track. If the will, seriousness and sincerity of the U.S. is proven, it could be a good sign for a better future for this agreement and its final implementation in the coming weeks”. The U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, asserted that the proceedings would “involve discussions about identifying the steps that the U.S. has to take and identifying the steps that Iran is going to have to take… because they’ve been increasingly in noncompliance with their nuclear commitments”. A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson remarked that “we do see this as a necessary but insufficient step, albeit an important early one, to seek to return to compliance with the JCPOA, consistent with Iran also doing so”.