(Tehran) Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that they wanted to resolve with a “pragmatic” approach the outstanding issues to revive the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program concluded in 2015 between Tehran and The big powers.
Posted at 8:26
The announcement came shortly before a statement from Russia that now demands guarantees from the United States before backing a new deal, which could dash hopes of a quick conclusion.
Visiting Tehran, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday shortly after talks with the chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran ( OEA), Mohammad Eslami.
Mr. Grossi’s crucial visit is part of efforts in Vienna to salvage the 2015 deal struck by Iran on the one hand, and the United States, China, France, the United United, Russia and Germany on the other. It is supposed to prevent Iran from acquiring the atomic bomb, which Tehran has always denied.
This pact had allowed the lifting of international economic sanctions against Iran, in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear program. But the United States withdrew from it in 2018 under the presidency of Donald Trump and reinstated its sanctions which are suffocating the Iranian economy. In response, Tehran has largely freed itself from restrictions on its nuclear activities.
Russian requirements
The challenge is to bring Washington back into the 2015 agreement and bring Tehran back to respecting its commitments.
“We decided to look at the issues with a pragmatic approach […]in depth, but also with the clear intention of arriving at […] a result,” Grossi told a news conference.
“We have come to the conclusion that Iran and the AEIA will exchange documents at the latest in Khordad [mois iranien qui débute le 22 mai, NDLR]in order to solve these questions […] as planned in the talks in Vienna,” said Mr. Eslami.
On Friday, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said he “hoped for results over the weekend” to “resuscitate the agreement” of 2015.
But “there are problems on the Russian side,” warned the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday. “We have asked our American colleagues for written guarantees […] so that the penalties [occidentales contre Moscou liées à l’invasion russe de l’Ukraine, NDLR] do not affect our right to free and full trade, economic, investment and technical-military cooperation with Iran,” he said in Moscow.
Mr. Grossi is due to hold a press conference upon his return to Vienna on Saturday evening, according to the IAEA.
Emergency
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said he was ready to go to Vienna in the event of a “final agreement”, which according to him depends on “total respect for the red lines announced by Iran, including economic guarantees”. He did not specify these guarantees or these “red lines”.
The next few days are perceived as decisive by the West because they believe that at the rate at which Iran is making nuclear advances and that the agreement will soon be lapsed. France considered it “urgent” to “conclude this week”.
Observers believe that the West could leave the negotiating table if a compromise is not reached this weekend.
Along with the negotiations in Vienna, Iran continued to accumulate stockpiles of enriched uranium. They now exceed the limit authorized by the 2015 agreement by more than 15 times, according to an IAEA report consulted by AFP on Thursday.
Iran exceeded the 3.67% enrichment rate set by the agreement, rising to 20% at the start of 2021. Then it crossed the 60% threshold, approaching the 90% necessary to make a bomb.
The report will be discussed at the IAEA Board of Governors next week, with negotiators hoping to reach a compromise before then.