U.S. expects ‘difficult’ Iran talks, sees no early breakthrough

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department played down expectations for indirect talks that begin on Tuesday in Vienna on Washington and Tehran resuming compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it expected the talks to be difficult.

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FILE PHOTO: An Iranian protester holds the picture of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as she attends an anti U.S. demonstration, marking the 40th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover, near the old U.S. embassy in Tehran

“We don’t underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead. These are early days. We don’t anticipate an early or immediate breakthrough as these discussions, we fully expect, will be difficult,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during his daily briefing on Monday.

(Reporting By Simon Lewis, Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk, Editing by Franklin Paul)