Since last April, hectic efforts have been underway between Iran and world powers with the indirect participation of the Americans to salvage the 2015 deal and de-escalate tensions in the region. Under the landmark nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers in Vienna in 2015, Iran was obliged to limit its uranium enrichment to 3.67% purity, reduce the number of centrifuges, avoid uranium production at the Fordow nuclear facility and disable the original core of the Arak nuclear reactor, among other measures. In return, the UN was supposed to terminate all previous resolutions targeting Iran’s nuclear program and the US and EU were required to lift sanctions and remove designations of certain Iranian individuals and entities.
Hassan Beheshtipour, a policy analyst at the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies stated that The agreement with six world powers increased Iran’s weight and influence in the region, and opened new avenues of economic cooperation in various fields.
But the relief turned out to be short-lived as former US President Barack Obama’s Republican successor, Donald Trump, in May 2018, decided to pull Washington out of the deal, followed by the imposition of unprecedented sanctions under the “maximum pressure” campaign.
According to the reports, The countdown to the end of the six-month-long talks in Vienna on the future of the Iran nuclear deal has begun. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken says We have, I think, a few weeks left to see if we can get back to mutual compliance.
In the latest round, which is currently underway, Iran has provided revised drafts on sanctions removal, verification, guarantees, and nuclear commitments to other parties with Iran’s lead negotiator Ali Bagheri saying the “ball is in the US court.”
So far, US President Joe Biden’s administration has refused to give commitments on lifting sanctions or guarantees that a future US government will not undo any agreement reached in Vienna. Iran, on the other hand, has increased its nuclear activities while conducting large-scale military drills in recent months, which some perceive as an attempt to gain leverage in the discussions. Meanwhile, the US is pressuring Iran to complete the discussions as soon as possible, warning that the “window for diplomacy is closing.” However, Iran rejected the deadlines and said it wants “result-oriented talks”.
The experts on International Affairs observed that the differences between the parties are fundamental and require a lot of effort to bring the negotiating parties to a common ground. It is not clear how long this process will take place but, we hope that these discussions come to a positive end soon.
