Iranian nuclear: resumption of negotiations, Tehran focuses on lifting sanctions

Published on : 12/28/2021 – 7:30 AM

Indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States in an attempt to save the 2015 Iran nuclear pact resumed on Monday, December 27, with Tehran focusing on lifting US sanctions against it.

The seventh round of talks, the first since the election last June as Iranian presidency of the ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raïssi, ended ten days ago after the Iranians demanded sweeping changes to the draft agreement existing.

“If we work hard in the days and weeks to come, we should achieve positive results. It will be complicated, difficult political decisions will have to be made, both in Tehran and in Washington,” the envoy said. European Union, Enrique Mora.

Enrique Mora was speaking shortly after the resumption of talks, in which representatives of Germany, China, France, Great Britain, Iran and Russia participate, with a coordination of the European Union.

“There is a sense of urgency among all the delegations present so that all the negotiations are concluded within a reasonable time. I will not give a specific date, but we are talking about weeks and not months,” he said. added.

Iran refuses to negotiate directly with the United States, forcing diplomats to commute between the two delegations.

Washington has often voiced its frustration with this format, saying it slows down the process, when Western officials suspect Iran is only trying to buy time.

The 2015 agreement placed restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment activities, delaying the time it takes to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb from about two to three months to at least a year.

Iran wants sanctions lifted

“The main challenge for us is to achieve as a priority a situation in which Iranian oil can be marketed easily and without hindrance,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, quoted by Iranian media.

Enrique Mora, however, said the issues of lifting sanctions and nuclear restrictions would be addressed.

Tehran wants all US sanctions to be lifted before any nuclear decision. On the contrary, Western negotiators believe that negotiations on nuclear power and the lifting of sanctions must go hand in hand.

Oil exports – Iran’s main source of income – plunged after the restoration of US sanctions.

Tehran does not publish data on this subject, but Iranian oil exports are estimated to have fallen from around 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 to 200,000 bpd now.

Enrique Mora announced that discussions would be halted for three days from Friday, “the establishment (not) available”, he said, referring to the luxury hotel where the negotiations are being held. .

The three European powers party to the 2015 agreement – France, United Kingdom, Germany (E3) – had estimated that the talks had returned to the point where they had ended in June.

With Reuters