Page 10 - MEOG Week 29 2021

MEOG POLICY MEOG

Iranian’s Raisi will not continue

Vienna format JCPOA talks

IRAN IRANIAN President-elect Ebrahim Raisi has paid the costs and now it is time to use benefits,”
said his future government will not continue he added.
talks in Vienna under the current format, Mehr “Raisi’s administration will not continue talks
News Agency reported n July 18. in Vienna format. Vienna format is a worse repe-
The change in direction by the incoming tition of JCPOA and is jumping out of the frying
president has come about because of the poten- pan into the fire.”
tially new hardline negotiation strategy of his President Rouhani has previously said that
incoming foreign minister which has yet to be all issues have been agreed between the different
announced. sides and it is because of the Raisi’s team dragging
The former judiciary chief has said previously their feet to claim the victory for their president
he is not opposed to the JCPOA but would seek that nothing has been yet agreed.
to negotiate with the EU and US in a different “Rouhani’s administration is indebted to peo-
manner than with President Hassan Rouhani ple because they failed to realize JCPOA benefits
and his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad and the Western sides should pay their debt to
Zarif. Iran,” said Zonnour.
“The next administration’s policy is not aban- “Biden is not willing to return to the JCPOA
doning JCPOA talks,” Mojtaba Zonnour, a mem- and he does not even believe the expired content
ber of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security of JCPOA. He is trying to keep 517 sanctions in
and Foreign Policy Committee, told the press. place and implement the snapback mechanism
“The administration believes that JCPOA has and under these circumstances, the condition of
had costs and benefits; the Islamic Republic has sanctions will become harder.”™

US sweetens Iran’s path

to restoring nuclear deal

IRAN THE US said on July 14 that it was permitting made by the Trump administration in spring
Iran to use funds frozen by sanctions to settle 2018 and Iran brazenly breaching the agreement
debts in South Korea and Japan. by accelerating the development of its nuclear
Analysts will assess the move as an attempt to work in a direction that could conceivably even-
sweeten the path for Tehran towards an agree- tually give it the means to construct a nuclear
ment between the Iranians, Washington and weapon – companies that deal with Iranian bank
other major powers that would relaunch the accounts remain exposed to US secondary sanc-
2015 nuclear deal. tions unless the Biden administration grants a
Such a revival of the pact, known as the waiver.
JCPOA, would see the US lift a range of heavy The US State Department said that it has
sanctions on Iranian economic sectors including been letting Japanese and South Korean compa-
oil, banking, shipping and automaking. nies receive payments from US-targeted Iranian
Separately, Iran’s pragmatic moderate Pres- accounts to pay for exports shipped before for-
ident Hassan Rouhani, who will hand over the mer president Donald Trump’s officials started
presidency to hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi on enforcing their toughest sanctions on Iran in
August 5, on July 14 implicitly criticised the Ira- 2019.
nian regime’s top decision makers – who have Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed an
the final say on all decisions made by the elected earlier waiver and has extended it for 90 days as
government – for “not allowing” his administra- “these repayment transactions can sometimes be
tion to reinstate the nuclear deal during the final time-consuming,” a State Department spokes-
months of its term in office. person said, adding: “To be clear: The waiver
As things stand – with the US not signed up does not allow for the transfer of any funds to
to the JCPOA given the unilateral withdrawal Iran.”

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 29 21•July•2021