Negotiations on nuclear agreements make progress, say Iran and US

Talks on the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna received more positive notes on Monday, officials said, while Tehran and Washington continue indirect talks in hopes of reviving the 2015 deal that lifted economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for its nuclear program. .

“We are on the right track and some progress has been made, but that does not mean that the talks in Vienna have reached the final stage,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. told a news conference in Tehran.

U.S. officials say there was no breakthrough, but described the indirect discussions as “thorough” and “considerate.” According to reports, diplomats may even draft an interim agreement that will give all parties more time to resolve some of the more complex technical issues.

Negotiations are beginning to pick up, even as Iran announces further breaches of the agreement – especially its promise to enrich uranium to 60% pure last week, which will bring the splinter material closer to the levels needed for a bomb. Uranium enrichment must be 90% to be able to make a bomb – the limit under the 2015 agreement was 3.67%.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told CNBC. While this move is aimed at strengthening Tehran’s hand, it could also backfire, analysts warn.

Iran launched advanced centrifuges on April 10 to enrich uranium in celebration of National Nuclear Day, while President Hassan Rouhani reiterated the country’s commitment to non-proliferation. The conflicting messages on state television were followed by an explosion in Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility just one day later – which Tehran calls an “act of nuclear terrorism” and blames Israel. Israel has publicly refused to acknowledge or deny any responsibility.

“I think it will definitely pull out. You will probably see that the cyber war will heat up between these two countries in the next few months and we will probably talk more about talking in the next few months,” Ben Taleblu said. .

“And while there are more cyberattacks and more chats, you can almost guarantee that sites like Natanz will do everything in their power to continue production.”

Yet all parties continue to seek a US return to the agreement that the former Trump administration abandoned in 2018, after which it imposed crippling sanctions on Iran’s economy. The US also wants to see Iran fully comply again before lifting sanctions, something that is becoming more difficult with each new enrichment by Tehran.

During the talks, Iranian officials have in fact taken a hard line – they want Washington to lift all sanctions before complying with compliance again. The Biden team expressed willingness to lift all sanctions that are not in line with the agreement, but have not yet spelled out exactly what that means.

Officials from all sides described a mutual desire to move simultaneously and in sequential steps to make this agreement a success. But at this point, there is still significantly more work to be done.

At the same time, the International Atomic Energy Agency began separate talks with Iran over uranium traces that the agency found in black spots in the country. The agency wants to understand where the tracks are coming from and ensure that Iran does not divert the material to make a nuclear weapon, which would mean a major blow to the apparent progress of the talks so far. Iran insists this is not the case.

EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday: ‘I think both parties are really interested in reaching an agreement, and that they are moving from general to more focused issues, which is clearly on the one hand sanction lifting and on the other hand are side, core implementation issues. ‘

“The US re-joining the JCPOA and returning to the full implementation of the agreement will make the world much safer,” Borrell said.