Tehran has delivered its reaction to the final draft mediation proposal made by the EU; however, there are still certain hurdles to clear before the United States would provide their approval.
.jpg "The EU's new nuclear deal with Iran is ever closer") |
| [EU-Iran Nuclear Deal] |
There is a growing possibility that a new nuclear deal will be reached with Iran, an agreement that could put an end to the tense situation that has been going on ever since the previous president of the United States, Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the one that was reached in 2018, 2015, during the time of his predecessor, Barack Obama. Following the presentation of a draft deal by the European Union the previous week, Tehran has now provided a formal response, which includes its views as well as its counter-proposals.
According to a spokesman for the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, the European Union (EU) is "studying" this response. Borrell also stated that Brussels is "consulting the other signatories" of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Jcpa) agreement, which are the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, and Russia). "on the way to go." According to the Irna news agency, a representative from Tehran was quoted as saying, "An deal will be completed if the US replies with reality and flexibility." "The EU suggestions are acceptable provided that they offer guarantees to Iran on several areas, involving sanctions and safeguards," said a diplomat. "These assurances should cover a variety of issues," the diplomat said.
Iran has agreed to scale down its nuclear program in return for a relaxing of sanctions from the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations under the terms of the deal that was reached in 2015. However, in 2018, then-President Trump reneged on the accord and imposed severe sanctions from the United States, which led Tehran to begin breaking nuclear limitations almost a year later. After reaching the maximum rate of enrichment that was permitted, the nation made an announcement at the beginning of 2020 stating that it no longer considered itself bound by any limit "on the number of its centrifuges," and it made another announcement in 2021 stating that it had begun producing uranium with an enrichment level of 60%. Now, after 16 months of indirect discussions between the United States and Iran, with the European Union serving as the mediator, we can see the promise of a new agreement emerging.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated yesterday that there are three issues that, if resolved, will allow us to reach an agreement in the coming days. This statement gave the impression that Tehran's response to the Brussels proposal would not be a definitive acceptance or rejection of the proposal. "They have been informed that our zero tolerance policy must be respected. We have shown an adequate amount of flexibility. We would prefer not to establish an agreement that, after a period of forty days, two months, or three months, does not materialize on the field."
According to a report by Reuters, Joe Biden's administration in the United States stated that the deal could only be revived if Iran abandoned issues "unrelated" to the pacts. This appears to be a reference to Tehran's demands that the nuclear control body of the United Nations closes an investigation into unexplained traces of uranium in Iran and that its Revolutionary Guards be removed from a list of terrorist organizations in Washington. Iran has also requested assurances that no future president of the United States will be able to renounce the nuclear deal in the same manner that Trump did. President Biden is unable to provide Iran with such ironclad assurances due to the fact that the nuclear deal is a political agreement and not a legally binding treaty.
The agency was informed by diplomats and officials that discussions would continue even in the event that there is no approval for the so-called "final" document. This is because an agreement is in everyone's best interest. Amir-Abdollahian remarked that "the next few days are going to be extremely significant, but it would not be the end of the world if they did not demonstrate some degree of adaptability. Then we will need further efforts and conversations in order to tackle the difficulties that are still outstanding ". The stakes are high because a breakdown in nuclear talks would increase the likelihood of a new conflict breaking out in the area with Israel. Israel has threatened to take military action against Iran if diplomatic efforts fail to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.