The Russian delegate to the Vienna talks, Mikhail Yulianov, confirmed that the new version of the Iranian nuclear agreement will be similar to the original one signed in 2015, after statements by the Israeli Prime Minister in which he said that the new agreement will be "weaker and shorter" than it was, and will lead to more turmoil in the region.
The Russian official added in press statements that the new version of the agreement, which is expected to be reached in the ongoing negotiations in Vienna, cannot be weaker than the one before it.
The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that it is likely that a nuclear agreement will be reached within a short period between the major powers and Iran.
Bennett indicated during the weekly session of his government that the possible agreement will be for two and a half years, and that Iran will receive tens of billions of dollars in return for the agreement, and the lifting of restrictions and sanctions.
He added that the money that Iran will get as a result of the agreement "will reach terrorism in the region, and will endanger us and other countries, as well as endanger the American forces in the region."
He stressed that Israel is preparing for the next day in all circumstances and at all levels, in order to preserve and protect the security of its citizens by its own strength.
The 2015 agreement sets limits on uranium enrichment to make it more difficult for Iran to develop materials for nuclear weapons, in return for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on it.
But that agreement has crumbled since 2018, when then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from it and reimposed severe sanctions on Iran.
Iranian terms
Meanwhile, Axios website quoted Bennett as saying, in a speech to representatives of American Jewish organizations in Jerusalem, that Iran is asking the United States in the Vienna negotiations to remove the Revolutionary Guards from the list of terrorist organizations as a condition for reaching an agreement.
According to Axios, Bennett did not say whether the administration of US President Joe Biden had agreed to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from that list, adding that the US State Department refused to comment on the Israeli Prime Minister's statements.
In a related context, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that most members of the Iranian parliament issued a statement on Sunday containing conditions that must be met if Tehran returns to comply with the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.
250 members of parliament agreed that the United States and the European parties to the agreement should provide guarantees not to withdraw from the agreement after its revival, and not to activate a mechanism to re-impose sanctions on Tehran.
In the statement directed to Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, the parliamentarians demanded the Iranian government not to abandon Tehran's red lines in the Vienna negotiations, and not to give up what they described as national interests under any circumstances.
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi receives Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (Iranian press - archive)
A major visit to Qatar
Meanwhile, the French Press Agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made an unannounced visit to Iran, after the visit of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Washington at the end of last month.
The agency added that Qatar's unannounced visit to Iran included talks with the Iranian president and the foreign minister.
She stated that the Iranian President's visit to Doha today, Monday, will build on the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and contacts to revive the nuclear agreement.
Earlier, the Iranian "IRNA" news agency reported that the Iranian president will visit Doha on Monday, at the official invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.