Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that they wanted to resolve outstanding issues “pragmatically” with the aim of resuming the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Tehran and the major powers.
The announcement came shortly before Russia said it wanted “written assurances” from the United States that sanctions over the Ukraine conflict will not affect cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, a demand that could put a damper on the deal.
On a trip to Tehran, the director general of the IAEA, the Argentine Rafael Grossi, met this Saturday with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, shortly after a meeting with the president of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad. Eslami.
“We decided to look at the issues pragmatically … in a profound way, but also with the clear intention of reaching an outcome,” Grossi said.
“We have come to the conclusion that Iran and the IAEA must exchange documents no later than the ‘khordad’ (Iranian month starting May 22) to resolve the issues (…) as foreseen in the negotiations in Vienna,” Eslami said.
The visit by the director of the UN agency that oversees atomic energy is considered crucial in trying to revive the 2015 pact.
The agreement signed seven years ago by Iran, Germany, China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia set strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear program, so that it would not develop atomic weapons, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
But the pact fell apart when the United States government abandoned the agreement in 2018, during the presidency of Donald Trump, who reinstated sanctions. In response, Iran stopped complying with much of the restrictions it had accepted.
– “Red lines” –
The signatories of the original agreement resumed negotiations in November in Vienna, but this time the US government participated indirectly.
The aim of the talks is for Washington to return to the agreement and Tehran to return to respecting the limits imposed.
Grossi said during the week that the IAEA will never abandon attempts to get Iran to explain the presence of nuclear material in several undeclared places on its territory.
Tehran, meanwhile, is demanding an end to the IAEA investigation to reach a compromise in Vienna that saves the 2015 pact.
“Now that the Vienna negotiations are in their final stages, one of Iran’s red lines is to definitively close the case of the allegations so as not to cause more problems for our country,” Eslami insisted on Saturday.
For Grossi, the two themes are “closely related”. “Although the processes are somewhat parallel… one cannot ignore the other,” she explained.
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said on Friday that he is prepared to travel to the Austrian capital if an agreement is reached.
“I am ready to travel to Vienna when the western parties accept our terms,” he said.
The Iranian minister did not define the conditions, but his country insists on the right to verify the suspension of sanctions and guarantees that Washington will not withdraw from the agreement again.
In addition, this Saturday, Russia asked the US government to guarantee that sanctions against the country due to the conflict in Ukraine will not affect cooperation with Iran.
“There are problems on the Russian side,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“We ask our American colleagues for written assurances … that the sanctions will not affect our right to free and full commercial, economic, investment and military-technical cooperation with Iran.”
Western powers are hoping to make progress in negotiations with Tehran after finding that the Iranian regime has accelerated its nuclear program.
Enriched uranium reserves are currently 15 times the limit set by the 2015 agreement, the IAEA said this week.
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