Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran will not negotiate with Washington in a bilateral format.

“We have talked about this many times, and I repeat once again: we will not go to bilateral negotiations with the United States,” Rouhani said during a meeting with parliamentarians, adding that the proposals on this subject “came from many parties,” however, the Islamic Republic always answered in the negative.

He emphasized that "there has never been any solution to bilateral negotiations with the United States."

Recall that in August, French President Emmanuel Macron after the conclusion of the G7 summit, said that the Iran-US summit could soon be held. The American leader Donald Trump also did not rule out a similar possibility.

At the same time, Rouhani noted that the USA can take part in the previous “5 + 1” format (five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, China, Great Britain, France and the USA, as well as Germany). However, this is only possible if Washington lifts the sanctions that it imposed on Tehran after leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program.

“If the US lifts all sanctions, they can join the previous format of negotiations - 5 + 1,” said Rouhani.

According to the professor of Moscow State University, expert on the Middle East, Alexander Vavilov, Iran does not want to negotiate with the United States, because it understands that it is impossible to come to any consensus with the current positions of the parties.

  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
  • © ATTA KENARE / AFP

“Iran excludes even the possibility of bilateral negotiations, because it will not be able to agree with the United States, which are acting rudely and unprofessionally in this matter. In this situation, Tehran wants to use the weight of the “six” as a leverage in order to influence the negotiation process, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view is shared by Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Euro-Atlantic and Defense Studies of RISI.

“The Iranian president understands that Washington does not want to negotiate on existing problems, coordinate interests, try to come to some kind of consensus, because it is a long and difficult process. Tehran is aware that negotiations with the US will be counterproductive, therefore, in this situation, it relies on Europe and Russia, which are interested in maintaining the JCPOA, ”he said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Blokhin did not agree that the current situation in relations between Iran and the United States is a dead end.

“In international politics, there is no such situation that it would be impossible to play. If there is a bilateral desire to solve the problem, then, accordingly, there will be a solution. When Washington realizes that methods such as escalating the situation and imposing a forceful policy are counterproductive, then the Americans will begin the negotiation process, ”the analyst said.

Third stage

Unlike the United States, the rest of the JCPOA, including Washington’s European allies, opposed the annulment of the deal and attempted to preserve it. To do this, they began to develop measures that would help continue economic cooperation with Tehran, bypassing US sanctions. However, at the same time, the EU refused to buy Iranian oil, which caused the greatest damage to Iran.

According to Rouhani, the main issue in the negotiations now is precisely the supply of oil.

“If other countries can buy our oil for cash or on credit, this will simplify the situation, and we will be able to take measures to fulfill obligations,” TASS quoted the president as saying.

According to Blokhin, permission to supply Iranian oil may make Iran more accommodating, but he doubted whether the United States would allow it.

“This will soften Iran’s position, but the United States will be furious because oil supplies to Europe will fuel the Iranian regime, which the Americans want to economically strangle, isolate,” he explained.

At the same time, the Iranian authorities declare that the EU’s measures to compensate for the US’s actions are insufficient, which is why Tehran does not make any sense to adhere to the terms of the JCPOA: it incurs losses as before the conclusion of the transaction. In this light, Iran announced a gradual refusal to comply with the restrictions imposed on it by the JCPOA. Thus, the Islamic Republic hopes to induce the EU to more active actions in this direction.

So, on May 8, 2019, Iran announced the first stage in stopping the implementation of the JCPOA conditions regarding enriched uranium and heavy water reserves. And already in July it became known that Tehran had embarked on the second stage, having begun enrichment of uranium at a level higher than that stipulated by the agreement.

In a statement, Rouhani said that the start of the third stage could be announced as early as September 6th.

“If until Thursday we do not reach the final result, we will announce the third step to reduce obligations,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

As the representative of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behruz Kamalvandi said on September 2, Tehran is able to start receiving enriched up to 20% uranium within two days.

“If Iran makes such a decision, they will be able to resume production of up to 20% enriched nuclear fuel in one to two days,” he said.

  • Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi
  • globallookpress.com
  • © Rouzbeh Fouladi / ZUMAPRESS.com

According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi, if the EU has time to fulfill Tehran’s terms for the time remaining until September 6, Iran will not agree to another reduction in its obligations under the JCPOA. However, he called this scenario unlikely. At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that the negotiations will continue.

At the same time, Iran has repeatedly reiterated that measures to renounce the conditions of the JCPOA are reversible. The last time this position was confirmed on August 31 during a telephone conversation between Rouhani and Macron.

According to Blokhin, Europe does not have enough independence to reach an agreement with Iran.

“There is interest on the part of European elites to continue this negotiation process. However, Europe is weak and cannot dictate its wishes to Washington. The only thing that can increase European subjectivity is the threat of an even greater Euro-Atlantic split. It’s not necessary to write off Europe completely, perhaps Washington will nevertheless listen to its opinion, although there’s little chance of it now, ”the analyst believes.

Credit assistance

As Reuters reported on September 2, citing its own sources, France could provide credit assistance to Iran worth a total of $ 15 billion by the end of this year in exchange for a full return to compliance with the JCPOA. At the same time, sources noted that Paris would take this step only if it was not opposed in Washington.

“Firstly, the question is whether we can achieve this level ($ 15 billion). Secondly, who will finance this initiative. And thirdly, we need to enlist at least the tacit approval of the United States. We still don’t know America’s position, ”a source with information on the negotiations told Reuters.

  • US and French Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron
  • © Neil Hall / Pool via REUTERS

In turn, the source of the agency in Iran noted that in addition to credit, the Islamic Republic needs markets for its oil.

“France has proposed to provide (Iran) a credit line in the amount of $ 15 billion, but so far we are only discussing this proposal. We need guarantees that we will have free access to this amount. Iran should be able to trade its oil and have access to its money, ”a source said.

Vavalov expressed confidence that such a loan could be issued without the approval of Washington.

“In this case, the consent of the United States will not be needed, because the Six wants to keep this deal, and it will do everything possible to do this, including providing the same loan, which is a good lever to restore diplomatic relations to normal,” concluded Vavilov.