Need for Agreement on Viable JCPOA Demands

Beneficiaries of the 2015 nuclear deal need to put forward viable demands to reach an agreement on the revival of the faltering accord, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a former Iranian lawmaker said. 
“Parties cannot achieve an outcome with maximum demands,” Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said in an interview with ISNA. 
The deal started unraveling when the United States pulled out unilaterally and restored sweeping sanctions on Tehran, which responded by suspending its commitments. 
The new administration in the White House is willing to rejoin and Iran is also ready to resume compliance, but there is disagreement over the procedures. 
Negotiations are underway in Vienna, Austria, between Iran and the remaining parties, who separately hold talks with the US, to resolve this deadlock. 
Falahatpisheh said it is justifiable now that both sides lower their expectations and reach a compromise. 
He explained that Iran could have asked for damages over the US non-compliance before re-complying with its commitments, but it has only demanded a verifiable removal of sanctions.
“This is a reasonable expectation that Iran has opted to put on hold,” he said.
Tehran has declared that it would immediately reverse its remedial steps after all US sanctions are lifted and its effectiveness is verified.
“In the international stage, diplomacy means the mutual lowering of the ramparts of war and pulling back arsenals,” the former parliamentarian said.  
“In the original JCPOA, none of the sides had won a desired level of their demands either, but rather attained the viable upper level.”
According to Falahatpisheh, if the negotiations progress toward the removal of sanctions, a primary agreement could be reached and details could be put up for discussion at a later point. 
“If the structure of sanctions is broken and conditions return to the period after the JCPOA implementation in 2016, there would be a great boom in Iran’s economy and foreign and regional relations,” he said, warning against shortsighted policies in managing this major issue.  

Main Challenge 

Negotiators at Vienna say the talks have made progress and the parties have reached a stage where draft documents can be prepared. 
Two expert groups have been set up to work out the steps to be taken by the US and Iran. A third group was also formed during the final session of JCPOA’s Joint Commission last week to work on the practical arrangements needed for the US sanctions lifting and Iran’s return to full nuclear implementation. 
Delegates are now back in their capitals for consultations and are expected to reconvene this week for follow-on talks. 
Washington has reportedly submitted a list of sanctions that include removable, suspendable and non-removable ones while Iran demands a full lifting of bans imposed, reimposed or relabeled by the previous US administration. 
The main challenge, according to Falahatpisheh, is the third type that includes most secondary sanctions that would continue to prevent Iran from accessing its foreign resources in spite of the JCPOA revival.
If Tehran and Washington can come to an understanding in this regard, the Joint Commission meetings will possibly be held at the ministerial level to pursue the agenda.