Talks on conditions for the US and Iran to re-abide by the 2015 nuclear deal will resume next week after sufficient progress has been made since Tuesday’s breakthrough agreement on a roadmap for both parties.
The US did not hold direct talks with the Iranian delegation in Vienna this week, but is mainly sending messages to European members of the body overseeing the agreement.
Iran insists that all sanctions imposed by the US since 2016, including those classified by the US as non-nuclear-related, be lifted, and it is unclear whether Iran will take steps to reconcile until he is satisfied that the lifting of the sanctions has had a practical impact on his ability to do business, including the export of oil.
The Trump administration imposed a wall of sanctions on Iran before and after it left the 2018 deal. The US has in the past made a distinction between its willingness to lift nuclear-related sanctions and those that are not linked to the nuclear deal, such as human rights or terrorism-related sanctions.
“The lifting of all US sanctions imposed under the previous US president is an essential step in reviving the joint comprehensive plan of action. [the Iran deal]”And only after the lifting of the sanctions is verified will Iran be ready to halt its corrective steps and return to the full implementation of the agreement,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Araghchi said at the end on Friday. of the conversations said.
Full-scale talks at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers will resume on Wednesday, with technical talks between officials continuing.
Araghchi said there was no point in continuing the talks unless there was a seriousness on the American side. “In our opinion, America must act in one step, then we will verify it and then Iran will follow with its own actions. How verification will take place is another point of our discussion. ”
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency and a member of Iran’s delegation to the talks, said the verification test to satisfy Iran that the sanctions had been lifted in practice was that ‘the Islamic Republic would be able to to conclude its oil contracts to export its oil. Or in the banking sector, he can execute his financial transactions through various financial channels. ”
Russian and Chinese ambassadors present during the talks spoke of progress during the talks and the need to maintain momentum.
Iran began scaling down its core compliance under the agreement after Trump ordered the US withdrawal and what he said were the remaining parties to protect it from US sanctions.
Under a law passed by parliament in Tehran in December last year, the Iranian government began producing and storing enriched uranium with a purity level of 20%, setting the enrichment parameter of 3.67% set by the nuclear deal of 2015 was instituted, violated. However, Tehran has repeatedly said its measures will be reversed once Washington removes its sanctions.
In a largely opaque statement, the Joint Committee, the body overseeing the agreement, said: ‘Participants have held the discussions at various levels since the last Joint Committee with a view to a possible return of the US to the [deal] and discuss modalities to ensure a return to full and effective implementation.
“The Joint Commission has been briefed on the work of the two expert groups on the lifting of sanctions and nuclear implementation measures, and participants are aware of the constructive and results-oriented exchange.”