US Prepared for Broader Diplomatic Efforts to Resolve All Mutual Issues

The United States is ready for diplomatic efforts beyond the current talks with Iran on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal to resolve other bilateral issues, a senior diplomat said. 
“We are prepared for a return to full JCPOA implementation. We are also prepared for broader diplomatic efforts to resolve issues outside of the JCPOA and this specific nuclear file,” US State Department Ned Price said in a press conference on Monday. 
He used the abbreviation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the multinational nuclear accord that offered sanctions relief to Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
The former US government quit the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions that prompted Iran to scale back its commitments accordingly. 
Indirect negotiations have been underway in Vienna, Austria, since last April to restore the deal. 
Despite good progress over a year, the Vienna talks have been halted for about a month over a few remaining issues, with both sides blaming the other for failing to make the required political decisions. 
Iran demands the revocation of all components of the US so-called maximum pressure campaign, launched by former US president Donald Trump after the exit from JCPOA, whether nuclear or non-nuclear. 
That includes sanctions “reimposed, relabeled or introduced”, according to Iranian officials. 
“All elements of the maximum pressure campaign must be revoked,” Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday, accusing the US for attempting to maintain parts of Trump’s legacy. 

More Concessions 

Washington declines to accede to the demands which it describes as “beyond the JCPOA” unconditionally and appears to be seeking more concessions in return.  
“If Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they’ll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA,” Price said. 
He alleged that Iran is using these talks to resolve other bilateral issues, otherwise, “we are confident we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin to reimplement the deal itself.” 
“It is Iran that needs to make this decision,” he asserted.
The terror designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is also seen by Iran as an element of the pressure campaign which must be rescinded. 
This has become a key obstacle as the US refuses to delist the elite military group within the framework of Vienna talks, saying the issue is non-nuclear and outside the scope of the JCPOA.  
“If they want to negotiate issues that fall outside the purview of the JCPOA, then we’ll do that, but they will need to negotiate those issues in good faith with reciprocity,” Price said. 
Along such line, the US has reportedly asked that Iran drop the case of General Qasem Soleimani, a top commander who was assassinated on Trump’s direct order while on an anti-terrorist mission in Iraq.
“It is a definite principle in the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy that these people [responsible for the assassination] must be brought to justice,” Khatibzadeh said.
He also said the US is responsible for the delay in reaching an outcome in Vienna and that messages delivered to Tehran are nowhere near minimum-level requirements for a deal. 
But the atmosphere in Vienna is not negative, according to the diplomat, since Iran and the other five parties have completed their tasks and are waiting for US responses. 
Price, however, put the onus on Tehran. 
“Whether we are able to get there [mutual compliance] or not, that is a question for Iran.”
He said the US has been in a different position now for several weeks.
“That is why we’re preparing equally for scenarios in which there is a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA and scenarios in which there is not,” he said, adding that they would greatly prefer the former. 
Khatibzadeh had also said that Iran is not holding up the country’s affairs for the result of the Vienna talks and is implementing parallel plans to neutralize sanctions and develop a sanctions-resistant economy.