After talking about an imminent agreement, why did hopes of reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program dwindle?

Tehran

- Three weeks after the European Union's foreign and security policy chief, Josep Borrell, announced the reopening of the Vienna nuclear negotiations file, he wrote last Saturday - on Twitter - that the possibility of concluding a deal to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran was diminishing.

With the return of tension to Tehran's nuclear file, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian vowed a consistent, effective and immediate response to any political move by the United States and the European Troika at the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors.

In its last quarterly report, the agency denounced the lack of "satisfactory answers" from Iran about the traces of enriched uranium that were found in 3 undeclared sites: Marivan (west), Faramin and Turquozabad in Tehran province.

minimum agreement

For his part, the Iranian diplomat, former ambassador to Norway, Sri Lanka and Hungary, Abdolreza Faraji Rad, believes that lifting various types of US sanctions constitutes the minimum demands of Tehran for any possible agreement on the Iranian nuclear deal.

The Iranian diplomat explained - to Al-Jazeera Net - that lifting US sanctions on Tehran has become the main node in the negotiations aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement, stressing that his country has previously announced that it will not negotiate on side files, such as its missile program and foreign policy in the region, and that the opposite party no longer demands the inclusion of Such files in the Vienna talks.

Faraji Rad considered that the issue of removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the US terrorism list falls within the framework of Iranian demands to lift all US sanctions;

Because the Iranian military organization plays a prominent role in the national economy, such as production, exports and imports.

A glimmer of hope

Although the chances of success of the Vienna talks, which have been stalled for more than two months, have diminished, Iranian diplomat Abdolreza Faraji Rad still sees the possibility of saving the nuclear agreement, citing the US administration's loss of enthusiasm for settling the Vienna negotiations near the midterm elections scheduled for next November in the United States.

He explained that the democratic administration is subjected to republican pressure, which has led it to become tough on Iranian demands, especially regarding the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the list of terrorism, stressing that although reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear file has become far away, the door to negotiation will remain open even after the elections. midterms in the United States.

Farji Rad concluded that the White House’s approval to remove the Revolutionary Guards from the terrorist list at the present time might lose the Democratic Party a number of its seats in Congress under the influence of the Zionist lobby in America, considering European efforts to bridge the differences between Tehran and Washington stemming from prior European-American coordination to bypass the upcoming elections.

Mahmoud Abbaszadeh: The ball of nuclear negotiations is in the American court and Tehran cannot make concessions (Iranian press)

Iranian papers

On the other hand, the spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian parliament, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, believes that the administration of former US President Donald Trump had killed the nuclear agreement and that the Vienna negotiations were seeking to revive it, as he described it.

The Iranian parliamentarian added - to Al-Jazeera Net - that the ball of nuclear negotiations is now in the American court, stressing that the Iranian government cannot make concessions to reach the nuclear agreement according to the "Strategic Action to Repeal Sanctions" law approved by Parliament in late November 2020.

Zadeh indicated that his country has papers to respond to any provocative step that Western countries may take, ruling out that the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at its next meeting, will adopt the Western decision on the Iranian nuclear issue.

He explained that Western capitals, led by the United States, are more in need of reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear deal. According to him, Iran has got used to living without the nuclear agreement and has gained very valuable experiences and is no longer eager to save the agreement.

Zadeh believes that Iran, which acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1970, has the right to enjoy all its legal rights approved by the Atomic Energy Organization for all member states, accusing the international organization of implementing a Western agenda regarding the Iranian nuclear program, while closing its eyes to the program. The Israeli military nuclear program, he said.

International influences

For his part, the Iranian researcher in international affairs, Hanif Ghafari, believes that the international developments during the past few months - especially the Russian war on Ukraine - played a role in delaying reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear deal, adding that Iranian diplomacy was able to neutralize the repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on the Vienna negotiations and that the continuation of the negotiations in Vienna Her pause is due to "not making the hard decision in the White House."

Ghafari explained - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that if the International Atomic Energy Agency adopts the Western decision on Iran, the latter's response will be proportional to the severity of the decision and its demands from Tehran, and may vary from issuing a statement of condemnation until taking technical steps in its nuclear program.