Iran "closer than ever to a nuclear deal", says Iranian negotiator in Vienna
The meetings on the Iranian nuclear deal are continuing, which began last April, after the resumption of the meetings last week. The United States said they are in the "middle of the final stage" of indirect talks with Tehran to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement signed by Iran and a group of Western powers, which limited the Persian country's nuclear activities.
Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's nuclear negotiator, called on Western powers "to be realistic, avoid intransigence and heed the lessons of the last four years. It is time to take serious decisions". "After weeks of intense talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement; however, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," he said via Twitter. "This is really the decisive period during which we will be able to determine if a mutual return to JCPOA compliance is in the offing, or if it is not," said Ned Price, US State Department spokesman
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, said that "Tehran has only a few days left to accept the agreement, warning that a major crisis would be triggered if there is no agreement. It's not a matter of weeks, it's a matter of days". "We need political decisions from the Iranians. They have a very clear choice. Either they unleash a major crisis in the coming days or they accept a deal that respects the interests of all parties, especially Iran," he added.
"We have found that the convergence is significant enough to allow an agreement that is within reach at the moment," the French minister said, as well as the desire of the countries, Germany, China, the United States, France, Britain and Russia, to reach an agreement. He also said that "time was running out because Iran continues to step up its nuclear activities in violation of the 2015 agreement, which was intended to provide safeguards that Tehran would never seek a nuclear weapon," Le Drian added
On the other hand, the Chinese envoy to the talks explained that Iran was being constructive in responding to all the approaches put forward by the US. "Not only have they taken this direct approach, but they have also made a political decision based on give and take," Wang Qun told Reuters. Because of this, Iran urged the US administration to issue a "political statement" on Washington's promise of continuity in the possible restoration of the deal. In 2018, Donald Trump decided to end the deal and imposed sanctions against Iran again, affecting the Iranian economy. In contrast, Tehran stepped up its nuclear work in response to the US violation of the JCPOA, hence Iran's distrust of Washington. As a result, the main Iranian concern is US assurances, Amir-Abdollahian noted that other powers should have "no worries".
"Iran's public opinion cannot accept the word of a leader as a guarantee, let alone that of the United States, because of the Americans' exit from the pact," Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister, said in an interview with the Financial Times. "At least their Parliaments or speakers in Parliament, including the US Congress, can signal in the form of a political statement their commitment to the deal and return to the implementation of the JCPOA," he stressed. "Iran's commitments are as clear as a mathematical formula." "It is absolutely clear what we are supposed to do and how these measures will be verified, namely through the UN International Atomic Energy Agency," the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed.
The Iranian government has insisted that it is possible to reach a "good agreement in the short term" for the reactivation of the 2015 nuclear deal, if Western countries fulfil their commitments and carry out the withdrawal of sanctions against Tehran. Likewise, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, assured that the reactivation of the nuclear pact "is within sight" and stressed that "the time has come to make a final effort and reach a compromise".