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The fuel reactor upgrades being performed remain well within the limits of the nuclear deal. However, western diplomats fear Iran could pull out of the JCPOA if more progress is not made soon in obtaining viable economic assistance Europe in the face of heavy US sanctions.
2.3 Iran denies Trump’s claims it is talking about talking
Iran has dismissed claims from Donald Trump that Tehran is seeking talks with Washington, saying that it is in fact the Americans who are attempting to find a route leading to discussions with the Iranians, state media outlets in Iran reported on January 7.
Tehran has accused the US of creating a “war” situation with its reintroduction of heavy sanctions designed to force the Iranians to the table to renegotiate their Middle East policies and activities. There have been repeated claims from both sides that the other side is requesting negotiations. No reports have emerged, however, of the two sides using indirect means to negotiate behind the scenes, as was the case prior to face to face negotiations that resulted in the late 2016 Iran nuclear deal. On that occasion, Oman was used as the intermediary.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qassemi denied Iran was looking to quietly negotiate a way forward with the US. He said that Trump’s "dreams have nothing to do with the existing realities" following comments made by the American president to reporters outside the White House on January 5.
“Our nation will never yield to the cruel pressures of the United States. We will never bend to those who talk the language of sanctions and build walls instead of bridges,” Iranian state TV quoted Qassemi as saying.
Iran is suffering a recession, a quadrupling of inflation and a severely weakened currency as a result of the economic turmoil caused by the wide-ranging sanctions. Trump told reporters: “They [Iran] are not doing well. They want to talk [with the US].”
However, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it was the US that was quietly requesting talks. “During my recent visit to Afghanistan, the US sent me two messages asking for talks... the claim that we sent a message asking for a negotiation is a lie,” he added.
Khamenei slapped down an offer of direct talks made by Trump last year. Iranian officials have defiantly said Washington’s crippling sanctions will fail to asphyxiate its economy to the point Trump can claim his sanctions policy is working.
2.4 Iran’s Rouhani slams “outdated” social media jamming
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hit out at the blocking of social media apps by Iran’s judiciary, saying such resistance to new technologies is “outdated”, local media outlets have reported.
8 IRAN Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com