The United States and the European Union are holding consultations regarding the Iranian response to the proposal submitted by the Europeans to revive the nuclear agreement, while Iran revealed its goal of negotiating.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that all parties have put forward their observations regarding the EU draft, but Washington will not reveal the details of its position, noting that his country has informed its partners of what is happening, including Israel.

Price stressed the US position that the negotiations are about Iran's nuclear program and nothing more, stressing that the issue of including the Revolutionary Guards on the US list of terrorism was not part of the Vienna negotiations.

The spokesman indicated that his country considers the request for guarantees an obstacle to reviving the nuclear agreement, stressing that the US position was clear, which is that these negotiations deal only with Iran's nuclear program.


He considered that the most important thing for them and for the rest of the parties, such as the European Union and Israel, is that Iran not possess a nuclear weapon, and said, "If Iran possesses a nuclear weapon, this will pose a danger to us and the international community."

For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he discussed with his American counterpart the measures required to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tehran quoted an Iranian official as saying that Tehran had sent its response to the Europeans regarding their proposal to return to the nuclear agreement.

Iran responded to the proposal late Monday, but neither it nor the European Union provided any details about the content of the response, while a senior Iranian official revealed to Al Jazeera that its response to the European proposal is realistic and professional and includes important notes to secure its interests, as he put it, and stressed that Tehran is waiting for a response. On her notes by the end of the day Wednesday.

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In turn, the adviser to the Iranian negotiating delegation, Muhammad Marandi, told Al Jazeera that one of the goals of negotiating the nuclear agreement is to raise the price of any US exit from the agreement in the future.

Marandi stressed that the goal of having a price for any US withdrawal is to fortify the agreement, and this is in everyone's interest, as he put it.

He added that one aspect of raising the price is the self-nuclear guarantees and other economic, political and legal guarantees.

Iran participated in several rounds of the Vienna negotiations on reviving the nuclear agreement, but the parties have not yet reached a compromise formula (Reuters)

He explained that the economic guarantee means immunizing foreign companies and protecting them from US sanctions.

In the same context, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's delegate to the Iranian nuclear negotiations in Vienna, said in press statements that Iran's proposals regarding the European document are reasonable, pointing to an upcoming ministerial meeting on the nuclear agreement this week or next.

The question of guarantees

And CNN quoted a regional diplomat as saying that the main issue standing in front of reviving the nuclear agreement with Iran is the guarantees required from Tehran to compensate it if any US administration decides in the future to withdraw again from the agreement.

The regional diplomat explained that progress has been made in converging views, especially with regard to the issue of indirect sanctions on Iranian companies operating abroad.

CNN quoted the diplomat as indicating that negotiations are now taking place between the United States and Iran through Qatar and the European Union.

After intermittent and indirect talks between the United States and Iran that lasted 16 months, during which the European Union shuttled between the two parties, a senior EU official said on August 8 that the bloc had made a “final” offer, and expected a response within “a few weeks.” very".

The 2015 agreement between Tehran and Washington, Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow and Beijing made it possible to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for reducing its nuclear activities and ensuring the peace of its program, but the United States unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, re-imposing harsh economic sanctions on Iran which responded by gradually reversing most of its commitments under the agreement.

Iran and the powers affiliated with the agreement began discussions to revive it in April 2021 in Vienna, with the indirect participation of the United States, and with the facilitation of the European Union.

Although significant progress has been made in the negotiations, the talks were suspended last March, with points of disagreement remaining between Tehran and Washington, on which the stakeholders and mediators have not yet been able to bridge the gap.