On Monday, November 29, in the Austrian capital, the seventh round of negotiations on the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Iranian Nuclear Program (JCPOA) kicked off.

According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, the parties agreed to continue joint efforts to reach an agreement.

“The meeting of the Joint Commission on the JCPOA is over.

The participants agreed on further immediate steps during the seventh round of negotiations, which started quite successfully, "Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.

The meeting of the Joint Commission on #JCPOA is over.

The participants agreed on further immediate steps during the seventh round of negotiations which started quite successfully.

pic.twitter.com/qZyqpaiqFw

- Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) November 29, 2021

He also added that Tehran agreed to "work on the nuclear track", which involves the return of the country to the original parameters of the deal.

Delegations from Iran, Russia, China, Great Britain, Germany and France continue to work on the deal after a break, which the parties took in June for consultations in their capitals.

The Iranian delegation is participating in the consultations in a renewed composition.

It was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, Ali Bagheri.

The Russian delegation is headed by Mikhail Ulyanov.

The meeting is chaired by the coordinator of the European Union, Enrique Mora.

The American delegation will also participate in the negotiations, but indirectly, since in 2018 the 45th US President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the JCPOA.

The special envoy of the United States, Robert Malley, will attend separate consultations with the parties to the deal, but will not be able to conduct a direct dialogue with the Iranian side.

As a result of previous negotiations, the parties were able to agree on what sanctions by Washington against Tehran will be lifted, and almost agreed on what Iran has to do in the nuclear field in order to return to its obligations.

  • Negotiations on a nuclear deal in April 2021

  • AFP

  • © Lars Ternes / EU Delegation in VIienna / APA

New requirements

Ulyanov said that on the eve of a new round of talks, the Russian side held informal consultations with the Chinese and Iranian representatives.

“China, Iran and Russia held informal trilateral consultations in preparation for the official resumption of the Vienna talks on November 29.

The exchange of views was useful primarily for a better understanding of the updated negotiating position of Tehran, ”the diplomat wrote on Twitter.

As Ali Bagheri said on November 28, Tehran is now insisting on a shift in the focus of negotiations towards the discussion of the lifting of US sanctions previously imposed by Washington.

“We have two goals.

First, to achieve a complete, guaranteed and verifiable lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Iranian people.

Without this, the process will continue indefinitely.

"Negotiations" without a concrete solution are not good for anyone, "Bagheri said in an article for the Financial Times.

In addition, he noted, Iran intends to defend "the implementation of the legal rights of the Iranian nation to use peaceful atomic technologies", especially in the field of uranium enrichment for industrial purposes in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Also, the Iranian representative accused Western countries of disregard for the previously concluded agreement.

“The West is rather trying to score points of public opinion by making statements, but secretly doing everything to“ disimplement ”the agreements.

Based on our experience, this is followed by attempts to “hijack” the JCPOA platform in order to force Iran to make new concessions in areas not related to the nuclear issue, ”Bagheri said.

  • Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Ali Bagheri

  • AFP

  • © Vladimir Simicek

Doubts of the West

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, citing knowledgeable sources, European and American diplomats consider the current presentation of the question by Iran regarding sanctions unrealistic.

After all, Tehran demands that absolutely all restrictions be noted that have been introduced since 2017, and among them are those that were not established in relation to the Iranian nuclear program.

According to diplomatic representatives, Tehran is thus trying to gain time for the implementation of its nuclear program.

The same point of view was previously expressed by Robert Malley, noting that in this case, Washington could increase pressure on the Islamic republic.

“If Iran’s approach is to try to use the negotiations as a cover for an accelerated nuclear program and, as I say, to play for time at the nuclear table, then we will have to react in a way that we would rather not do.

It should not surprise anyone if the pressure on Iran is increased at that moment, ”Malley said on the BBC.

The US State Department also did not express any intentions to follow Iran's lead and loosen the current restrictions before the JCPOA is fully restored.

“We have made it very clear that we do not intend and will not take unilateral steps to increase the attractiveness of the negotiations,” said the head of the press service of the US Foreign Ministry, Ned Price, answering the question about the likelihood of easing anti-Iranian restrictions.

Meanwhile, Russian Permanent Representative Mikhail Ulyanov recently emphasized that it was the increased sanctions pressure from the United States that prompted Iran to neglect its obligations under the deal and focus on expanding the scale of its nuclear program.

“The activities of Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran. -

RT

) in the nuclear field are deviating more and more from the parameters agreed in the JCPOA ... It is necessary to eliminate the root causes that prompted Iran to deviate from the terms of the nuclear deal, namely, the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and Washington's massive sanctions influence on Iran. ", - said in the statement of the diplomat circulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • US Department of State

  • Reuters

  • © Joshua Roberts

Fighting positions

Experts believe that the current round of talks in Vienna may take place in a much tougher key than the previous ones.

Moreover, the new Iranian government adheres to fairly conservative and anti-Western views.

“The coming to power of Ibrahim Raisi may well affect the pace of negotiations in Vienna, as he is more tough and uncompromising when it comes to Iran’s interests.

In this regard, the parties may encounter certain difficulties in the negotiations, "Irina Fedorova, senior researcher at the Center for the Study of the Near and Middle East at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a comment to RT.

According to her, Iran needs at all costs to achieve the lifting of American sanctions, which impede the normal economic development of the country and contribute to tensions within the republic.

She also noted the validity of Ali Bagheri's words that the same US, in the context of negotiations on a nuclear deal, may put forward demands to Tehran that are not related to it.

"The United States is interested in Iran making concessions not only on its nuclear program, but also to change the course of its policy in the region, as well as to undertake obligations to limit the development of the ballistic missile program," the analyst explained.

In her opinion, the way out could be the conclusion of a temporary agreement, which will become a "fireproof" border until permanent agreements are reached.

At the same time, Fedorova noted that all participants recognize the need for further consultations.

“All parties emphasize that they are not interested in negotiations for the sake of the negotiation process itself.

Therefore, we should expect in the near future at least an interim decision on the deal, ”the expert added.

Her point of view is shared by the professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, orientalist Alexander Vavilov.

At the same time, he is more optimistic in his forecasts for the conclusion of a new JCPOA.

“The prospects are good.

There will of course be many discussions.

Nevertheless, all parties are interested in these negotiations.

Because in modern conditions, no one wants to escalate tensions around Iran's nuclear program, and Iran itself needs to free itself from sanctions.

Therefore, they will look for a "golden mean", - said the interlocutor of RT.

In his opinion, Tehran in this respect relies more on the new American administration headed by Joe Biden, since it is with his submission that the United States, albeit indirectly, is now participating in the negotiations.

  • Nuclear facility near the Iranian city of Isfahan

  • AP

  • © Vahid Salemi

At the same time, Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, noted that Iran is not ready to follow the lead of the United States in everything and uses the current development of its nuclear program as a way to put pressure on the negotiators.

“Iran continues to develop its nuclear program, realizing that this is one of the few effective ways to make not the world community listen to its opinion, but, first of all, the United States and the West,” Danyuk explained.

In this regard, he believes, a great responsibility falls on Moscow, since Tehran trusts it more in this whole situation.

Therefore, it is Russia, as a de facto mediator, that will have to bring the opponents-negotiators to a consensus, the expert believes.

“I believe that not only Tehran listens to Russia, but also all sides of the process.

Iran to a greater extent, because Moscow has repeatedly fulfilled its obligations, voicing all its positions and did not blame Iran for anything, which our Iranian partners value, ”the analyst concluded.