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The nuclear negotiations between Iran and the powers involved in the 2015 nuclear agreement are back to the fore again, but not to sign a document to revive it, but rather to bridge the gap in positions and prevent the collapse of the negotiations that have been going on since April 2021.

Because both Iran and the United States cling to their demands in the indirect negotiations, whether in Vienna or Doha, saving the nuclear agreement has become a "difficult task" after it was described as "at hand" until last March, when negotiations were suspended.

After a series of mutual accusations between Iran and the United States about obstructing the revival of the nuclear agreement, the European Union announced last July 26 that it had proposed a new draft text to revive the agreement.

While Tehran said it was studying it, US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that his administration had developed a proposal to ensure a mutual return to the full implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran.

Iranian diplomat Faraj Rad says Iran is likely to go to Plan B by proposing an interim agreement (Iranian press)

temporary agreement

Despite the assertion by both Tehran and Washington of their intention to continue negotiations in order to resolve the thorny issues between them, some observers believe that all opportunities to revive the agreement have been exhausted, and that the Iranian and American parties are preparing for the collapse of the nuclear negotiations and the transition to the implementation of alternative plans.

For his part, the former ambassador to Norway, Sri Lanka and Hungary, Abdolreza Farji Rad, believes that the Iranian and American sides' insistence on their demands in the nuclear negotiations may push them into the abyss, ruling out that Tehran will respond positively to the latest European proposal.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Faraji Rad suggested that his country would turn to Plan B in the near future, explaining that if the ongoing negotiations reach a dead end, Tehran may propose to the European Union to negotiate an interim agreement.

The Iranian diplomat added that the interim agreement would reduce tension between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency on the one hand, and restore calm to the energy market on the other.


new conditions

He added that the unanimity of the nuclear negotiations parties to sign a temporary agreement would be enough to lift sanctions for a period of one or two years on Iranian oil exports, and solve the crisis of the International Atomic Energy Organization's cameras in Iran's nuclear facilities.

The Iranian diplomat pointed to the intensification of the confrontation between the West and Russia in the Ukrainian crisis, and between the West and China over the Taiwan issue, ruling out another decision in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors ahead of the tenth conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and referring the Iranian nuclear file to the UN Security Council.

In response to a question about Tehran considering the interim agreement a red line, Faraji Rad said that the conditions of the world today are different from what they were before the Russian war on Ukraine, which requires cooperation and leniency by all parties to the nuclear negotiations.

Mahdi Motahar Nia believes that Iran has already started implementing its alternative plan some time ago (communication sites)

nuclear steps

In this context, the Iranian academic and researcher in political affairs, Mahdi Motahar Nia, believes that his country has started implementing Plan B some time ago, noting that the disclosure of Tehran's ability to manufacture a nuclear bomb and launching hundreds of new and advanced centrifuges comes in the context of this alternative plan. of taking new nuclear steps.

And in the middle of last month, the head of the Strategic Council for Foreign Policies in Iran, Kamal Kharazi, revealed to Al-Jazeera that his country has the technical capabilities to manufacture a nuclear bomb.

However, he stressed that it had no decision to build a nuclear bomb.

Also, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, confirmed on Monday that his country has the ability to manufacture a nuclear bomb, but it does not intend to do so.

Motahar Nia, in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, accused Washington and Tehran of negligence regarding the revival of the nuclear agreement, describing the interpretations and expectations of both Iran and the United States regarding the nuclear agreement as contradictory, which prevents the two parties from returning to the agreement concluded in 2015.


Tension tighten

According to the researcher, the Iranian nuclear file will take on different dimensions if the nuclear negotiations collapse, and that Washington's alternative plan will be more sanctions and pressure on Iran, and a move to reach an international consensus against it.

The Iranian academic indicated that his country's alternative plan would lead to more confrontation and tension, and that it would only yield another fragile and weak agreement to replace the joint action plan.

Motahar Nia concluded that the Biden administration suffers from many problems, and that the US Congress will be Republican after the midterm elections scheduled for next November, which reduces the Iranian incentive to reach an agreement with the current administration, especially in light of opinion polls that talk about the possibility of its failure in the elections. next presidential.