Page 8 - MEOG Week 17 2022

MEOG POLICY & SECURITY MEOG

Iran wants next nuclear deal

restart talks ‘as soon as possible’

IRAN IRAN on April 25 called for a new “Vienna were in agreement that “prolonging the pause in
talks” meeting “as soon as possible” to continue the negotiations is not in anyone’s interest”.
the process aimed at reinstating the 2015 nuclear The talks, he added, “have not stopped and
deal, or JCPOA, between Tehran and six major are continuing through the coordinator of the
powers. Vienna negotiations”.
“It is appropriate that a face-to-face meet- The Vienna talks have, however, been on
ing is held as soon as possible,” Iranian foreign hold since March 11. It was then that Russia
ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told his demanded guarantees that Western sanctions
weekly press conference, as reported by AFP. imposed against it after its late February invasion
He added: “It is not yet decided where and of Ukraine would not damage its trade with Iran.
when to have this meeting and at what level it Days later, Moscow said it had been given the
should be held, but it is on the agenda.” necessary guarantees. A key obstacle to sealing
In the Austrian capital, Tehran has been a JCPOA relaunch is Iran’s demand that Wash-
engaged in direct negotiations with JCPOA ington delists its Islamic Revolutionary Guard
signatories Britain, China, France, Germany Corps (IRGC) from its list of foreign terrorist
and Russia and in indirect contact with the US, organisations (FTOs). The US has so far shown
which unilaterally walked out of the nuclear deal no willingness to do so. “It is clear that if the US
in May 2018, to revive the JCPOA. The deal gave had given the right answers to the remaining
Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its issues ... everyone would have been in Vienna by
nuclear programme aimed at verifiably guaran- now,” Khatibzadeh continued. US State Depart-
teeing that it is kept entirely civilian. ment spokesman Ned Price said last week that “if
Iran and the US have exchanged views in Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the
Vienna via the European coordinator of the talks, JCPOA, they’ll need to address concerns of ours
Enrique Mora. Khatibzadeh said Iran and the EU that go beyond the JCPOA”.™

Former diplomats urge parties not

to miss window for JCPOA revival

IRAN FORMER leading diplomats of 14 nations have blocking progress.
warned in an open letter that the talks aimed at The letter signatories noted that a final draft
finding a path to restoring the 2015 nuclear deal text of a renewed agreement was ready to be
with Iran are heading to a “corrosive stalemate signed and warned that “for US and European
devolving into a cycle of increased nuclear ten- leaders to let slip the opportunity to defuse a
sion”. They have called on Tehran and Washing- nuclear crisis in the Middle East would be a grave
ton to show more flexibility in their demands for mistake”.
the reinstatement of the accord, also known as The letter’s authors acknowledge the poli-
the JCPOA. tics of the FTO designation are difficult—with
The open letter was coordinated by the Euro- Joe Biden in the US facing strong resistance to
pean Leadership Network. Signatories include the idea of ending the designation—but they
former permanent representatives to the UN, observed that “there are ways to provide the
former foreign secretaries, previous perma- counter-terrorism benefits of the current desig-
nent representatives to Nato and ex-defence nation while still accommodating Iran’s specific
ministers. request, and consider it imperative that these be
The year-long Vienna talks aimed at resur- fully explored”.
recting the JCPOA—designed to curb and keep They added: “For its part, Iran should not
checks on Iran’s nuclear programme in return expect a nuclear deal to address broader areas
for the dropping of sanctions on Tehran—have of disagreement between Tehran and Washing-
not advanced for several weeks, with a dispute ton. Both sides must approach this final phase
over whether the US will lift its foreign terrorist of negotiation with an understanding that the
organisation (FTO) designation of Iran’s Islamic strategic implications of failure would be grave
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seemingly and profound.”™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 27•April•2022