(Tehran) Negotiations to save the Iran nuclear deal will resume in Vienna on Monday after a ten-day hiatus, with the Islamic Republic’s priority being the lifting of US sanctions and “guarantees” that Washington will return to the pact.
After a five-month hiatus, negotiations to save the agreement concluded in 2015 were relaunched at the end of November during an eighth round between the countries still parties to the agreement (Germany, France, United Kingdom, China, Iran and Russia). Delegations from these countries are due to meet at 5 p.m. GMT, according to a source familiar with the matter.
What is at stake in the talks is to bring the United States back into the pact, which left it in 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran. The United States participates in the negotiations indirectly, Tehran refusing direct discussions with Washington.
“Today, a new round of talks opens. The question of guarantees and verification “of the lifting of US sanctions if Washington reinstates the agreement” are on the agenda, “Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday, as quoted by the Minister. official IRNA news agency.
Iranian oil
The 2015 agreement offered Tehran the lifting of part of the sanctions stifling its economy in exchange for a drastic reduction in its nuclear program, placed under strict UN control.
He has been dying since the unilateral withdrawal of the United States and the reinstatement of economic sanctions affecting several economic sectors of the country, including the export of oil. Iran, which denies wanting to acquire the atomic bomb, then gradually reneged on most of its commitments.
“The most important thing for us is to reach a point where we can make sure that Iranian oil will be sold easily and without any limits, that the money from that oil will be transferred in foreign currency to Iranian bank accounts and that we will be able to benefit from all the incomes of the various economic sectors ”, recalled Mr. Amir Abdollahian.
“We have reached a common document on the nuclear issue and on sanctions. Today, the first negotiations (on this subject) will begin, ”he added.
Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesman Said Khatibzadeh “advised all negotiating participants to come to Vienna with the will to get a good deal,” stressing Tehran’s refusal to “waste time and money. energy ”.
He recalled that the Iranian delegation would “focus on two documents: the lifting of sanctions and nuclear activity”.
“Time counted”
Washington had already warned Tehran against protracted discussions, without setting an ultimatum for the moment.
There are only “a few weeks” left to save the Iran nuclear deal if Tehran continues to develop its atomic activities at the current rate, US negotiator Rob Malley warned last week, warning of a “crisis” in case of failure of diplomacy.
Same tone on the side of France, Germany and the United Kingdom (E3). ” Time is counted. In the absence of rapid progress, given the rapid advance of Iran’s nuclear program, the agreement will very soon become an empty shell, ”senior officials warned.
On Thursday, European Union coordinator Enrique Mora said that “it was important to step up the pace on the key outstanding issues […], working closely with the United States ”.
In a statement to Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami said his country had no plans to enrich uranium beyond 60% in the event of failure of negotiations on its nuclear program.
“Our objectives in terms of uranium enrichment are to meet our industrial and production needs” and those “of the Iranian people,” he said.
Russian Ambassador to the UN in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov called the statement a “positive” message.
Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid, whose country fears enemy Iran might acquire atomic weapons, said on Monday that “stopping Tehran’s nuclear program” was “the first challenge for Iran. Israel’s security and foreign policy ”.
“We prefer to act through international cooperation, but if necessary we will defend ourselves by ourselves,” he added.