Discussing JCPOA talks in Vienna, a senior U.S. official indicated that “what we did achieve is greater clarification… clarification doesn’t necessarily mean consensus”. The official further noted that “we have provided Iran with a number of examples of the kind of sanctions that we believe we would need to lift in order to come back into compliance, and the sanctions that we believe we would not… and then a third category, which are the difficult cases”. The official also underscored that “the goal here is to come back into compliance with the JCPOA, all of the JCPOA, and nothing but the JCPOA, which means that demands that the U.S. lift sanctions that are consistent with the JCPOA should not be part of this conversation. And if Iran thinks or if Iran hopes that it could do less than come back into compliance with its nuclear obligations under the JCPOA, that won’t work either”. The official also noted that “we have pressed very hard” on the issue of U.S. detainees.