US Responsible for Pause in Vienna Talks

The United States is responsible for the suspension of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal today and any protraction in the coming days, an Iranian senior diplomat said. 
“The whole agreement is awaiting Washington’s political decision. It’s been so for weeks,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a regular press briefing on Monday, ISNA reported. 
Negotiations began in April in the Austrian capital Vienna to restore the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. 
The JCPOA has been unravelling since the US pulled out and reimposed sweeping sanctions that prompted Tehran to react by scaling down its commitments. 
Vienna talks were adjourned last month with no new meetings arranged yet, but European parties continue to shuttle between the two sides to find a way out of the current situation. 
The European Union coordinator of the talks, Enrique Mora, visited both Tehran and Washington last week to help address the remaining issues. 
He carried messages and was briefed about Iran’s stances during his visit to Tehran. 
Iran, who has put forward the most number of proposals so far, tried to test a new course so that the remaining differences can be resolved, according to Khatibzadeh.
“Mr. Mora left Tehran carrying Iran’s message and responses and we are still waiting for the other sides’ answers, but none has been received yet,” he said, adding that a deal is very much within reach. 
The US must respond logically to Tehran’s reasonable demands, which are approved by the other five members of the JCPOA, before Iran is ready to return to Vienna, he said. 
“We are a patient nation, but we will not wait forever. If the US wants an agreement, it must make its political decision as soon as possible,” Khatibzadeh said. 
The remarks come after the US State Department said on Thursday that a small number of outstanding issues remain in the nuclear talks, adding that the onus was on Tehran to make those decisions.

Taking a Deal Hostage 

According to the diplomat, the issue which requires US political decision is the natural and legal entities that must be removed from the sanctions list as per the JCPOA, plus assurances that Iran’s economic interests under the deal will be fully met.   
“If Washington’s responses are appropriate, we can return to Vienna immediately, not for new negotiations, but for the finalization of an agreement,” he said. 
It is largely believed that the terror designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is the main stumbling block to a deal. 
Iran insists that the elite military group must be removed from the list, describing it one of the Islamic Republic’s red lines, while the US refuses to do so. 
US special envoy for Iran has recently said the IRGC “will remain sanctioned under US law and our policies, and our perceptions will not change.”
Khatibzadeh said the US must know that Iran would not cross its red lines and would not compromise on its demands. 
“Our red lines are the interests of the people and benefiting from what has been negotiated once before,” he said. 
He later criticized the administration of US President Joe Biden, saying it is not a government who seeks to fulfill its duties, but one who wishes to use all possible legal tools to avoid performing them.  
“The US is taking a whole agreement hostage for the sake of its domestic partisan issues,” he said, adding this is the same approach that has led to the failure of many international agreements.
In the final steps to an agreement in Vienna, Washington is also trying its best to prevent Iran from enjoying the full economic benefits of the JCPOA, he said. 
Khatibzadeh also dismissed rumors that Iran has linked regional issues to Vienna talks, stressing that such a topic has not been on the country’s agenda.