The negotiations on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have reached their last step, and now they are adjourned to inauguration of the next administration in Tehran; however, the United States as the real violator of the nuclear agreement shoulders the responsibility to end maximum pressure and return to its commitments under the accord.
The Trump administration pull out of the deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018 and re-imposed anti-Iran sanctions, which should be lifted according to the agreement, which was endorsed by the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2231.
Reports say the incumbent US administration has proposed that they will give about 48 hours to the Islamic Republic to verify lifting of sanctions by Washington, and they also underlined that the suggestion will not be on the table forever and there is no guarantee that the United States would not withdraw from the deal once more.
Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s top negotiator in Vienna, has stressed that the Islamic Republic had made difficult decisions when it came to remaining in the JCPOA while the US did not abide by its commitments, noting that it is other sides’ turn to decide based on the recent negotiations and finalize their views on the revival of the agreement.
The last round of the Joint Commission meetings of the JCPOA in Vienna, Austria, came to an end three weeks ago and the negotiating teams have not yet determined any definite time to resume talks, while the maximum interruption had not exceeded more than one week in the previous rounds of negotiations.
In a Thursday report, some said that the Iranian negotiators will not come back to Vienna until the administration of president-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes power.
A spokesperson for the European Union told Euronews that the Iranian authorities have informed the EU they are eager to hold next round of talks in Vienna, whenever the next Iranian administration comes to power, which means from August 5 onwards.
The representatives of the P4+1 group (the UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) are concerned about the end of a three-month deadline that Tehran has given to the International Atomic Energy Agency to continue its inspections at Iranian nuclear sites, while the parties have not yet reached any agreement with Iran on the revival of the JCPOA and the return of the United States to its commitments.
Tehran suspended implementing the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement on February 23, 2021. The Islamic Republic decided to suspend observance in accordance with a legislation in order to force the US to lift sanctions. So, the IAEA have not had any access to surveillance images of both Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities in Iran.
Far from media hypes, the Biden administration can return to the JCPOA via lifting all nuclear-related sanctions imposed by his successor Donald Trump and end the economic war against the Iranians, instead of waiting for new administration and foreign minister in Iran.