Washington is ready to lift only part of the unilateral sanctions against Iran.

This was announced by the head of the press service of the US State Department Ned Price during a briefing.

“We will need to go for sanctions relief that goes against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” Price said.

At the same time, he noted that it is not constructive to call on the United States "to take unilateral steps or to conciliatory initiatives that have no analogues on the part of Iran."

“In fact, we should weed out the maximalist demands that the United States should do everything first and only then wait for a response from Iran.

It seems to me that such a proposal can hardly be called viable.

We expect to hear - again, not directly, but primarily through our European allies - constructive proposals on how we can arrive at the desired end result, ”Price said.

According to him, the United States is convinced that "even with such a state as Iran" with which the American side "has colossal and deep disagreements", Washington can "soberly, based on principles, negotiate."

The State Department spokesman also said that while the United States will continue to cooperate with its partners and allies around the world "to enforce" the sanctions regime against the Islamic Republic.

“If we, by signing a mutual agreement, come to the conclusion that it is acceptable to lift the sanctions, we will do it - provided that Iran also returns to comply with the deal.

But it is obvious that this moment has not yet come, therefore, in general and in strategic terms, this is an area in which our interests coincide with both Russia and China, ”he said.

Start of negotiations

The day before, a meeting of the Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was held in Vienna.

The State Department's special envoy for Iran, Robert Mally, arrived from the United States to the Austrian capital, but the meeting did not provide for direct contacts between representatives of the United States and the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said at the summit that the Islamic Republic is "fully prepared to stop nuclear corrective measures and return to full compliance with the JCPOA" after making sure that US sanctions have been "lifted."

After the meeting, he said that the meeting was held in a constructive manner.

"The talks in Vienna were constructive ... the next meeting will take place on Friday," Arakchi was quoted as saying by Reuters.

  • Meeting of the Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna

  • Reuters

  • © EU Delegation in Vienna / Handout

He also added that Tehran will not suspend uranium enrichment to 20% in exchange for unfreezing $ 1 billion of Iranian funds that were blocked in other countries due to the restoration of US sanctions in 2018.

According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, the meeting of the joint commission on the JCPOA "ended quite successfully."

“Two expert groups - on the lifting of sanctions and on nuclear issues - have been instructed to draw up lists of steps to be taken to return to full implementation of the JCPOA.

The experts get to work immediately, ”he wrote on his Twitter page.

The meeting of the Joint Commission on the #JCPOA ended quite successfully.

Two expert groups - on the lifting of sanctions and on nuclear issues - have been tasked with compiling lists of steps to be taken to return to full implementation of the JCPOA.

Experts get to work immediately

- Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) April 6, 2021

At the same time, Ulyanov said that "it cannot be ruled out" that the nuclear deal will be restored this year.

“I would even say that the task is to do it much earlier, because if there is no significant progress by the end of May, then we will again have problems with inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) . -

RT

) in Iran.

And I would not like to allow this, ”he said.

At the same time, Ulyanov noted that the parties during the negotiations "finally moved from general words about the importance of restoring the JCPOA to concrete work."

“In principle, everything will be very difficult, it is clear now.

But it seems to me that there are real reasons to expect that the result can be positive, "TASS quoted him as saying.

The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation also recalled that due to the lack of direct contacts, Washington and Tehran interact through intermediaries.

"The representative of the European Union will play the key role of a contact person in shuttle contacts between the Iranians and the Americans, but Russia can also be included, like any other party to the agreement," the diplomat explained.

The day after the meeting, April 7, Aragchi said that Tehran would stop negotiations on a nuclear deal if the other side tries to stall for time or pursue other goals.

It is reported by the Nournews news agency.

In turn, US State Department spokesman Ned Price stressed during a briefing that Washington is ready to lift sanctions against Tehran, including those that are incompatible with the nuclear deal.

“We are ready to take the necessary steps to return to compliance with the JCPOA, including by lifting sanctions that run counter to the JCPOA,” he said.

Recall that in 2015, Iran and a group of six countries (Russia, USA, UK, China, France and Germany) signed an agreement that was supposed to resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear program - the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan.

Under the agreement, the Iranian side was obliged to abandon the development of nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting the sanctions from the republic, which were previously imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union.

However, in 2018, Washington unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal.

The administration of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Tampa, who was then in power, explained its decision by the fact that Tehran allegedly violated the terms of the JCPOA.

At the same time, the rest of the parties to the agreement and the IAEA have repeatedly stated that Iran is fulfilling all the agreements within the framework of the deal.

After the US withdrew from the treaty, the American side resumed sanctions against the republic and introduced new restrictions.

In response, Tehran announced in 2019 the start of a phased reduction in its obligations under the JCPOA.

The incumbent head of the White House, Joe Biden, has pledged to return Washington to the nuclear deal.

This was announced at that time by his future national security adviser Jake Sullivan even before Biden's inauguration, at the WSJ CEO Council forum in December 2020.

According to Sullivan, Washington's goal is to force Iran to comply with the terms of the original agreements.

"Changed rhetoric"

As the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, recalled, initially Washington did not even want to partially lift the unilateral sanctions against Iran.

“Now they have changed their rhetoric and are allowing the lifting of some of the restrictions that were introduced after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal under Trump.

Washington is ready to take this step in the hope of changing the position of Iran, which wants a complete abolition of restrictions and a return to its original positions.

The demand of the Iranian side is logical and understandable.

IRI justifiably claims the injustice of the American approach.

But Washington is now trying to maneuver, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

  • US State Department

  • AFP

  • © MARK WILSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, in turn, suggested that at present Washington "is sending some signals to Tehran indicating that the United States is ready to release a number of frozen assets of Iran in various regions."

“At the same time, we understand very well that Iran, which is present in Syria, which is sending its military advisers there, is very much interfering with the plans of the United States, so this is such a carrot and stick policy.

And there is no need to say that in the short term, American sanctions against the republic will be lifted, "he said in a conversation with RT.

Rogulev explained that Trump has put the Biden administration "in a difficult position."

“It is one thing to impose sanctions against Iran, and it is quite another to lift them.

Some congressmen and part of American society may see this as easing pressure on the enemy of the United States, ”the analyst said.

For Iran, it is important to get the US to completely lift the sanctions, Rogulyov noted.

“Then the Iranians will have their hands free, and they will be able to more effectively restore their economy and develop the country.

Tehran does not agree to the half measures that Washington offers it, ”the expert stated.

Danyuk, for his part, stressed that Iran, despite the pressure exerted on its economy by the United States, "has a certain margin of safety."

"If the US continues to press, talking about some maximum conditions, then Tehran can easily freeze the negotiation process on the JCPOA," the analyst said.

Rogulyov summed up that if the United States ultimately does not want to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran after its withdrawal from the JCPOA, "there is no reason to count on much progress in the negotiations on the nuclear deal."