RFE/RLTue, 07 Dec 2021 13:19 UTC
© ReutersNegotiations to revive Iran's nuclear program in Vienna
Germany's Foreign Ministry has said that it does not consider Iran's proposals regarding its nuclear program acceptable and
expects Tehran to return to international negotiations with "realistic" bargaining positions.A ministry spokeswoman said on December 6:
"We reviewed the proposals...carefully and thoroughly, and concluded that Iran violated almost all compromises found previously in months of hard negotiations. The proposals were not a basis for a successful end to talks."
Negotiations in Vienna aimed a resurrecting the stalled 2015 nuclear deal got off to a rocky start last week.
The United States, which left the agreement in 2018 but which is open to rejoining the pact under President Joe Biden, accused Iran of not being seriously interested in a new deal.
Iran, which has refused to participate in direct talks with Washington, has said that there can be no new deal
unless all punitive sanctions imposed against Tehran are lifted.Iran agreed to curbs on its controversial nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief under the original deal worked out between Iran and world powers.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume this week.
Comment: Iran had this to say about the negotiations:
Iran's lead negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani has said Iran expects further talks on its basis of its draft proposals, which require lifting US 'maximum pressure' sanctions levied since the US left the JCPOA, before Iran reciprocates. Bagheri Kani said this would clear the way for Iran to scale back steps taken extending its nuclear program since 2019.
The German foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was unacceptable for Iran to continue such nuclear activities while talks continued, and that while Berlin remained "committed to the diplomatic path...the window of opportunity is closing more and more." It was not clear whether the German reaction to the Iranian proposals reflected a common position of the 'E3,' the three western European JCPOA powers, who have generally coordinated their approach.
A senior Iranian official said Sunday that a US reluctance to lift sanctions imposed on Iran since 2018 was the main challenge in reviving the JCPOA.
With JCPOA opponents in the US demanding a 'plan B,' Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the US would pursue other options over Iran diplomacy failed.
In a call for military action Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli prime minister and JCPOA critic, tweeted that Israel should "act independently against Iran's nuclear program...without any 'heads-up'..."
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Monday Iran had no 'plan B' to pursue "simultaneously as we negotiate." He spoke after meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran.
Iran has said it expects talks in Vienna to resume once details are agreed with Enrique Mora, the EU official chairing the talks. Amir-Abdollahian flatly rejected claims, attributed by Axios to a "US source" with supposed knowledge of an Israeli intelligence briefing, that Iran "could take that dramatic step soon" of enriching uranium to 90 percent "in an attempt to gain leverage in the Vienna talks."
Under the JCPOA, Iran enriched to 3.67 percent, but increased to 20 percent February and subsequently to 60 percent after attacks on its nuclear facilities widely attributed to Israel.
Comment: Iran had this to say about the negotiations: