Iran, US lock horns over sanctions relief
13/1/2022 6:09
Iran and the United States are
displaying little flexibility on core issues in indirect nuclear
talks, raising questions about whether a compromise can be found
soon to renew a 2015 deal that could dispel fears of a wider
Middle East war, diplomats say.
After eight rounds of talks the thorniest points remain the
speed and scope of lifting sanctions on Tehran, including Iran's
demand for a U.S. guarantee of no further punitive steps, and
how and when to restore curbs on Iran's atomic work.
The nuclear deal limited Iran’s uranium enrichment activity
to make it harder for it to develop nuclear arms - an ambition
Tehran denies - in return for lifting international sanctions.
But former U.S. President Donald Trump ditched the pact in
2018, saying it did not do enough to curb Iran’s nuclear
activities, ballistic missile program and regional influence,
and reimposed sanctions that badly damaged Iran’s economy.
After waiting for a year, Iran responded to Trump's pressure
by gradually breaching the accord, including rebuilding
stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile
purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Following months of stop-start talks that began after Joe
Biden replaced Trump in the White House, Western officials now
say time is running out to resurrect the pact. But Iranian
officials deny they are under time pressure, arguing the economy
can survive thanks to oil sales to China.
'WE NEED GUARANTEES'
A former Iranian official said Iran's rulers "are certain
that their uncompromising, maximalist approach will give
results".
France said on Tuesday that despite some progress at the end
of December, Iran and world powers were still far away from
reviving the deal.
The United States on Wednesday cited "modest progress" in
recent weeks, but not enough.
"Modest progress is also not sufficient if we are going to"
revive the 2015 deal, State Department spokesman Ned Price told
reporters.
Iran insists on immediate removal of all Trump-era sanctions
in a verifiable process. Washington has said it would remove
curbs inconsistent with the 2015 pact if Iran resumed compliance
with the deal, implying it would leave in place others such as
those imposed under terrorism or human rights measures.
"Americans should give assurances that no new sanctions
under any label would be imposed on Iran in future. We need
guarantees that America will not abandon the deal again," said a
senior Iranian official.
Iran's Nournews, a media outlet affiliated to the Supreme
National Security Council, reported on Wednesday that Iran's key
conditions at the talks "are assurances and verifications."
U.S. officials were not immediately available to comment on
the question of guarantees. However, U.S. officials have said
Biden cannot promise the U.S. government will not renege on the
agreement because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political
understanding, not a legally-binding treaty.
Asked to comment on that U.S. constitutional reality, an
Iranian official said: "It's their internal problem".
On the issue of obtaining verification that sanctions have
been removed - at which point Iran would have to revive curbs on
its nuclear programme - the senior Iranian official said Iran
and Washington differed over the timetable.
"Iran needs a couple of weeks to verify sanctions removal
(before it reverses its nuclear steps). But the other party says
a few days would be enough to load oil on a ship, export it and
transfer its money through banking system," the official said.
THREATS
Shadowing the background of the talks have been threats by
Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear
weaponry but which sees Iran as a existential threat, to attack
Iranian nuclear installations if it deems diplomacy ultimately
futile in containing Tehran’s atomic abilities and potential.
Iran says it would hit back hard if it were attacked.
A Western diplomat said "early-February is a realistic
end-date for Vienna talks" as the longer Iran remains outside
the deal, the more nuclear expertise it will gain, shortening
the time it might need to race to build a bomb if it chose to.
"Still we are not sure whether Iran really wants a deal,"
said another Western diplomat.
Iran has ruled out adhering to any "artificial" deadline.
"Several times, they asked Iran to slow down its nuclear
work during the talks, and even Americans conveyed messages
about an interim deal through other parties," said a second
Iranian official, close to Iran's negotiating team.
"It was rejected by Iran."
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson who
declined to be identified told Reuters: "Of course we — and the
whole international community — want Iran to slow down their
nuclear program and have communicated that very clearly."
"Beyond that, we don’t negotiate the details in public, but
these reports are far off."
Other points of contention include Iran's advanced nuclear
centrifuges, the machines that purify uranium for use as fuel in
atomic power plants or, if purified to a high level, weapons.
"Discussions continue on Iran's demand to store and seal its
advanced centrifuges ... They wanted those centrifuges to be
dismantled and shipped abroad," the first official said.
Asked to comment on this question, a Western diplomat said:
"We are looking for ways to overcome our differences with Iran
about verification process".
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