Iran Nuclear Pact Talks Resume

WASHINGTON - World powers resumed talks Tuesday in Vienna about revitalizing the 2015 international pact to restrain Iran's nuclear development program and bring the United States back into the accord that former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.

Current U.S. President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the pact aimed at keeping Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, although Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. does not have a seat at the table for the negotiations, but diplomats from the other countries in the agreement — Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France — are representing its interests at the talks. Trump, believing the agreement approved by former U.S. President Barack Obama was too weak to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, instead stiffened U.S. economic sanctions against Tehran in hopes it would agree to tougher restrictions on its nuclear program. But no new agreement was reached before Trump left office in January.