Issued on: 08/08/2022 – 18:02
Iran said Monday it was examining a “final text” presented by the European Union during negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.
“Once we received these ideas, we conveyed our initial response and considerations… as stated.
The comments came after a European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EU has submitted the “final” version of the text, negotiations have been concluded, “and will not be renegotiated”.
Talks to revive the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program resumed in Vienna on Thursday, months after they stalled.
Iranian sources have suggested that an International Atomic Energy Agency investigation is a major sticking point in reviving the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
But the European official said, “That has nothing to do with” the JCPOA.
Iran said on Sunday that the IAEA must “completely” resolve issues related to questions about nuclear materials at its undeclared sites.
The IAEA board of governors passed a resolution in June censoring Iran for failing to adequately account for the discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three previously undeclared sites.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry official added on Monday that during the talks in recent days, “we have shared our views with the other parties and that relative progress has been made on some issues”.
He added that the negotiating team is committed to “protecting the rights and interests of the Iranian nation”, as well as “ensuring the benefits and ensuring the sustainable implementation of the other party’s obligations and preventing the recurrence of illegal behavior of the United States”.
Negotiations to revive the deal began in April 2021 before stalling in March.
The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbing its nuclear program to ensure Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied wanting to do.
But the unilateral US withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the re-imposition of corrosive economic sanctions have prompted Iran to reverse its own commitments.
(AFP)