Iran, Tehran – All parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers say it should be reinstated since there is no viable alternative, but Iranian and Western definitions of a “good deal” to achieve that aim are vastly different.
The seventh round of discussions in Vienna finished on Friday, only to highlight the differences in the approaches taken by the various parties to resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
While the Iranian delegation stated that it had the authority and desire to stay in Vienna as long as necessary to restart negotiations, the European missions requested a little break to return to their respective capitals for consultations.
The representatives are likely to return to the Palais Coburg in Vienna for round eight later next week.
Iran sent two documents to the Joint Commission for the JCPOA on Thursday, which includes negotiators from China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The documents were subsequently passed on to the US, which is only participating indirectly because it unilaterally abandoned the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
Iran’s recommendations on how to relieve sanctions and dial back the country’s nuclear advancements are included in the documents. The country has previously stated that it wanted all sanctions imposed since 2018 to be withdrawn at the same time, however the US only wants to lift penalties that are “inconsistent” with the JCPOA, leaving human rights and “terrorist” designations in place.
A third document, detailing Iran’s demands for guarantees that the US will not abandon the deal again, as well as verification on the lifting of sanctions, is being prepared and will be handed over soon.
The Europeans were shocked, claiming that the documents reflect Iran’s maximalist posture and backtrack on many of the issues agreed upon by previous President Hassan Rouhani’s government in texts written before the end of the sixth round of talks in June. In August, President Ebrahim Raisi assumed office as the head of a new administration in Tehran.
Some of the revisions required by Iran in the documents were incompatible with the 2015 treaty, according to a statement by senior European diplomats, and it is “unclear how these new gaps can be bridged in a realistic timescale.”
On Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Iran “does not appear to be serious about doing what is necessary” to revive the JCPOA, vowing not to let Iran drag out the talks while its nuclear programme progresses.
Russia’s senior negotiator, Mikhail Ulyanov, responded to the European statement by saying that “disappointment appears premature” because adjustments are still conceivable.
Following the negotiations, Iran’s senior negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, told reporters that the Europeans were dissatisfied with Iran’s suggestions.
“They told us these proposals don’t align with our views and I told them it’s natural; we are not going to offer proposals that are in line with your views, we say things consistent with our own views and interests,” he said.
“The important thing is that these proposals are based on principles that are also accepted by other parties,” Bagheri said, adding that the other sides did not question the legality or relevance of Iranian proposals.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in a report that Iran had begun enriching uranium to a purity of 20% at the subterranean Fordow plant while the Vienna talks were underway.
The country’s “breakout time” – the amount of time it would take to construct a nuclear weapon if it wanted to – has plummeted to under a month and is steadily decreasing.
Iran, on the other hand, has always stated that it will never seek a nuclear weapon and that its nuclear programme is entirely benign. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has determined that Iran is not actively pursuing the 90 percent enrichment required for a weapon.
However, in a Friday interview, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi emphasised that if Iran wants to prevent more issues, it must allow his inspectors “unrestricted access.”
In recent months, Iran and the international nuclear watchdog have clashed over a number of issues. Grossi’s visit to Tehran a week before the Vienna discussions did not result in a deal or a joint statement, but the two sides agreed to keep talking.
Grossi also met with Iran’s and the US’s top negotiators in Vienna, emphasising the agency’s “indispensible verification role.”
