The three major European powers said on Tuesday (December 14) that “we are quickly reaching the end” to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as Tehran accused Western powers of playing a “blaming game”.
These comments indicate that the indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran to maintain an agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions may be close to collapse, and all parties are trying to avoid being held accountable.
French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Rivière (Nicolas de Rivière) read the joint statement of the United Kingdom, France and Germany: “Iran’s continued nuclear escalation means that we are quickly reaching an end.”
“We are approaching the point where Iran’s upgrade of its nuclear program will completely hollow out the JCPoA,” he added, referring to the agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan.
As the then U.S. President Donald Trump decided in 2018 to abandon the agreement and re-impose harsh U.S. sanctions, Iran portrayed itself as the victim. This move prompted Tehran to start violating its nuclear restrictions about a year later.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, wrote on Twitter: “Some actors insist on the habit of shirking responsibility, rather than real diplomacy. We put forward our ideas very early and used them constructively. And a flexible way to close the gap.”
Speaking of the U.S. withdrawal in 2018, he wrote: “Diplomacy is a two-way road. If there is a real will to correct the wrongdoing of the culprit, it will pave the way for fast and good transactions.”
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken stated that Washington continues to engage in diplomacy with Iran because “it is still the best option” but added that it “is actively engaging with allies and partners on alternatives.”
The stakes are high. Failure will bring the risk of new regional wars. If diplomacy fails to control Iran’s nuclear work, Israel has twice attacked Arab countries’ nuclear facilities, and it is pushing for a tough policy.
Indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States began in April, but stopped in June after the election of the hard-line clergyman Ebrahim Raisi. His negotiators were uncompromising after five months. Stand back to Vienna.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, stated that Tehran exercised “maximum restraint” after the United States withdrew and “paid a heavy price” to try to maintain the agreement.
“It is absolutely necessary and necessary to require the party responsible for the entire chaos before us to provide objective and verifiable assurances,” he told the world agency.
Analysts and diplomats say that Iran’s clerical rulers believe that a tough approach led by the strongly anti-Western supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei can force Washington to accept Tehran’s “highest demands”.
“But this may be counterproductive. This is a very dangerous and sensitive issue. Diplomatic failure will affect everyone,” said a Middle Eastern diplomat who asked not to be named.
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A senior US official stated that in the seventh round of talks that began on November 29, Iran abandoned any compromises it made in the first six rounds of negotiations and asked other countries to make more compromises.
As Iran and the United States still have major differences on some key issues—such as the speed and scope of sanctions lifting, and how and when Iran will reverse its nuclear steps—the chances of reaching an agreement seem very small.
Iran insists on immediately lifting all sanctions during the verifiable process. Washington has stated that if Iran resumes compliance, it will remove restrictions that are “inconsistent” with the nuclear agreement, which means it will retain other measures, such as restrictions imposed on the basis of terrorism or human rights measures.
Iran also seeks assurance that “no US government” will violate the agreement again. But US President Joe Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear agreement is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally binding treaty.
Iran has significantly increased its stakes and has also restricted the access rights of UN nuclear supervisory inspectors in accordance with the nuclear agreement, restricting them from accessing only declared nuclear facilities.
However, a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the state-run media television station that an understanding may soon be reached with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.
