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Prospects for deal in Vienna talks remains unclear over Washington's delay in making political decision: Shamkhani

Monday, 07 March 2022 9:20 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 07 March 2022 10:26 AM ]

An Austrian police officer stands outside Palais Coburg where talks between representatives from Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 deal take place, in Vienna, Austria, on February 28, 2022. (Photo by Reuters)

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says the prospect for reaching a good deal in the ongoing Vienna talks between representatives from the Islamic Republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 deal remains unclear as Washington has yet to make a political decision.

“Prospect of a deal in #ViennaTalks remains unclear due to Washington's delay in making political decision. Priority of Iranian negotiators is to resolve remaining issues that are considered in the red line. Rapid access to a strong deal requires new initiatives from all parties,” Ali Shamkhani wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Monday.

Prospect of a deal in #ViennaTalks remains unclear due to Washington's delay in making political decision.
Priority of Iranian negotiators is to resolve remaining issues that are considered in the red line.
Rapid access to a strong deal requires new initiatives from all parties.
— علی شمخانی (@alishamkhani_ir) March 7, 2022

Iran’s top security official had earlier stated that securing the interests of the Iranian people was the only factor affecting the course of negotiations in the Austrian capital.

Shamkhani highlighted that Tehran was working on new negotiation initiatives and creative methods to "expedite a solution.”

“Vienna participants act & react based on interests and it's understandable. Our interactions with 4+1 are also solely driven by our people's interests,” Iran’s top security official tweeted.

“Thus, we're assessing new elements that bear on the negotiations and will accordingly seek creative ways to expedite a solution,” he added.

Vienna participants act & react based on interests and it's understandable. Our interactions with 4+1 are also solely driven by our people's interests. Thus, we're assessing new elements that bear on the negotiations and will accordingly seek creative ways to expedite a solution.
— علی شمخانی (@alishamkhani_ir) March 7, 2022

The talks aimed at reviving the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are still underway.

The negotiations began last April on the assumption that the US, under the Biden administration, is willing to repeal the so-called maximum pressure policy pursued by former president Donald Trump.

Tehran says it won’t settle for anything less than the removal of all US sanctions in a verifiable manner. It also wants guarantees that Washington would not abandon the agreement again.

Russia: Iran, IAEA agree on 'concrete steps' to settle outstanding safeguards issues

A senior Russian diplomat says Iran and the IAEA agree on concrete steps aimed at settling outstanding safeguards issues within a reasonable period of time.

The United States left the JCPOA in 2018 and began to implement what it called the “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, depriving the country of the economic benefits of the agreement, including the removal of sanctions, for which Iran had agreed to certain caps on its nuclear activities.

In the meantime, the other parties to the deal, in particular France, Britain and Germany, only paid lip service to safeguarding Iran’s economic dividends as promised under the JCPOA, prompting Iran – after an entire year of “strategic patience” – to reduce its nuclear obligations in a legal move under the deal.

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