صراط عشق صراط عشق
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that his country is carefully reviewing the United States response to the EU draft proposals in the Vienna talks, but stressed that Tehran wants stronger guarantees from Washington to clinch an agreement.
Speaking at a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Amir Abdollahian noted, “We have received the American side’s last text, and my colleagues are closely studying the response with the required [level of] rigor and speed.”
The top diplomat, however, asserted that concerning [the issue of] guarantee, Tehran needs “stronger text and stronger guarantees” to wrap up negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and to lift sanctions on Iran.
The foreign minister added that if the US acts realistically and agrees to strengthen the current draft, a deal will be at hand.
Amir Abdollahian stressed that Iranian negotiators held talks for months in Vienna and their goal was to reach a good, robust and lasting agreement.
The senior official said Iran also cares about the United Nations atomic agency’s safeguards issue, adding the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must distance itself from political behavior and focus on its technical task.
He noted that once the JCPOA gets revived, Iran will not accept politically-motivated statements and baseless accusations from the agency.
The UN nuclear watchdog has episodically, including throughout the recent weeks and months, been accusing Iran of withholding cooperation, something that Iran roundly rejects as an attempt at throwing “baseless accusations” at the country.
Iranian officials stresses an agreement with the world powers hinges on the settlement of safeguards issues between Tehran and the IAEA.
At a news conference in Tehran on Monday, Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi emphasized that all issues with the IAEA concerning the nuclear safeguards must be resolved before any deal for revival of the 2015 accord.
“Without settling those issues, reviving the 2015 deal known as the JCPOA makes no sense,” he noted.
During the press conference on Wednesday, Lavrov for his part stated that Russia supports the revival of the JCPOA and the removal of all anti-Iran sanctions.
Lavrov said that Moscow is fully satisfied with the final text of the deal to revive the nuclear deal at the current stage, adding that Russia did all that it should do a long time ago.
Nuclear Chief: Negotiations Should Lead to Full Removal of Sanctions, Accusationshttps://t.co/IESoIQB3GU pic.twitter.com/Ytet5zk0td
— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 29, 2022
In mid-August, Iran offered its response to the proposals which the EU and the US announced they had received and were assessing. After submitting its response, Tehran urged Washington to show “realism and flexibility” in order to reach an agreement.
However, it took almost ten days for the Joe Biden administration to submit its response to Iran’s comments on the EU draft.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani said that Tehran is still studying Washington’s response to its proposals over the European Union’s proposed draft, adding that his country will show response after summing up expert meetings.
Iranian officials say although some progress has been made, there are still outstanding issues that need to be resolved before a final deal could be attained. They warn that Tehran has its own “Plan B” and it will go into effect if Washington fails to make a political decision to revive the 2015 agreement.
Supreme Leader: Iran Not Relying on Othershttps://t.co/5g5EDrgIk8 pic.twitter.com/Fwvchr3bHn
— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 31, 2022
Iran and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal have held several rounds of negotiations since April last year to restore the agreement, which was unilaterally abandoned by Donald Trump in May 2018.
In quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are being enforced to this day by the Biden administration, even though it has repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.
Iranian officials say the ball is in the US’ court, and the Biden administration should assure Tehran that it will not repeat Trump’s past mistakes.
Iranian officials have also criticized Washington for raising excessive demands from Tehran during the nuclear talks, and blocking efforts to reach an agreement on the JCPOA. They emphasized the Tehran’s will to reach a good, strong and lasting agreement, and stressed that the US should lift unilateral sanctions, and assure Iran that it will not repeat its past mistakes.
