Squaring the circle in Vienna July 27, 2021 The negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – or the Iran nuclear deal – seem to have reached a critical juncture as the negotiating parties await the initiation of the seventh round of talks despite invariably divergent objectives. While both parties continue to express their willingness to go back to the original deal and adhere to their respective commitments under the 2015 agreement, the sequencing of the process has become a sticking point where each side wants the other to make the first move. Iran is insisting on a complete lifting of the US sanctions before it returns to complete compliance with the agreement, and a commitment that the US government will not renege on the deal in the future. Washington, on the other hand, is pressing upon Tehran to first halt all activities prohibited under the agreement, especially uranium enrichment. Additionally, Washington is also trying to expand the scope of the deal aimed at seeking more concessions from Iran, especially on its missile development and regional rivalries. Iran has termed the US demands a non-starter, targeted at scuttling the entire process and has squarely ruled out any additional commitment beyond the scope of the original deal.