Iran said on Tuesday that 3 main issues must be resolved in order to reach a settlement on reviving the nuclear deal, while Israel took the initiative to confirm that it is not obligated to respect the “expected agreement” reached between Tehran and world powers.
“A good agreement is possible,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.
But he added, “There are still 3 major issues to be resolved, and America and European powers have not taken political decisions on these major issues.”
He explained that the outstanding issues related to the extent to which sanctions would be lifted, providing guarantees that the United States would not withdraw from the agreement again, and resolving issues related to uranium traces that were found at many of the old and undeclared sites in Iran.
All parties involved in the talks say progress has been made toward restoring the deal that limits Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, from which the United States withdrew in 2018.
The French Foreign Ministry stressed that there was an urgent need to conclude the talks this week.
Russian and Chinese diplomats involved in these efforts have offered hopeful but ultimately ambiguous assessments.
“We are very close, but additional efforts will have to be made in the coming days,” Russian delegate Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters. He expected the talks to end in early March, but he did not say if they would be successful.
However, Tehran and Washington indicated that there are still some major differences that need to be resolved.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said his country is ready to withdraw from the talks “if Iran shows stubbornness to make progress.”
defining moment
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made it clear that international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are approaching a crucial moment, but he indicated that the expected agreement is not binding on Israel.
I have said it before, and I will say it again, especially here; The agreement is not binding on us, and the date that will allow Iran to install countless centrifuges in two and a half years is certainly not binding on us.”
He addressed the Mossad agents, saying, “As the situation appears now, you will be assigned to accomplish a great job, as the great and gigantic task on your shoulders is to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state.”
Vienna is witnessing talks between Iran and world powers to revive the 2015 agreement, which imposed restrictions on Tehran’s implementation of its nuclear program, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, before former US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.
