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Iran: Vienna talks ‘at difficult stage, but not deadlock’

The Vienna talks on rescuing the international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program are at a difficult stage, but not a dead end, said the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Iran is in direct talks with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia and is in indirect talks with the United States on a 2015 nuclear deal that calls for control of Tehran’s nuclear activities to prevent it from acquiring an atomic bomb. .

Talks began in April 2021 on rescuing the deal between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain, and resumed in late November after a months-long hiatus.

“The negotiations are complex and difficult, but they address important issues that call for serious political decisions, especially on the part of Washington,” he told a news conference in Tehran.

But “there is no impasse in Vienna,” he said, adding that an agreement could be reached soon “if the American and European sides show real determination.”

The United States withdrew from the 2015 agreement in 2018 (during the presidency of Donald Trump) and reinstated economic sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran violated significant bans on its nuclear activities provided for in the international agreement.

The goal of the talks is for Washington and Tehran to “reciprocate” the agreement, which offers a relaxation of sanctions against Iran in exchange for imposing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.

“We need objective guarantees to ensure that the United States does not withdraw from the agreement again and that it honors its commitments,” said a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry. “All sanctions, whatever their reasoning, must be lifted at the same time.”

Negotiators in Vienna have reported progress and some have spoken of a final phase.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Hamhani, said today via Twitter that the negotiations had reached a critical point.

“The end of ichthyology depends on the American political decision to accept or reject the necessary conditions for a credible and viable agreement based on accepted principles.”

Iran has long denied that its goal is to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Diplomacy of hostage-takers?

Said Hatibzadeh said that in parallel with the Vienna talks, an agreement on the exchange of prisoners with the United States is on the agenda.

“But it seems that the US has not made a decision on this issue. Maybe they are waiting for the outcome of the talks,” he added.

In recent years, Iran has arrested dozens of dual nationals, including many Americans, mostly on espionage charges. He accuses Washington of holding Iranian citizens for violating US sanctions against Iran.

Iran is accused by human rights defenders of using detainees as hostages to secure retreats from other countries. Tehran denies the allegations.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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