Iran Set to Pursue Nuclear Talks Judiciously, Honorably

Iran is set to proceed with negotiations on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal “with honor” and “out of wisdom” and expects that its legitimate demands receive due attention, a senior government officials said. 
Government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi made the remarks at a regular press briefing on Tuesday, adding that the anti-Iran resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors last week will not affect the talks.  
“Negotiations are underway in their own course,” he was quoted as saying by Dolat.ir. 
Talks in Vienna, Austria, aim to restore the faltering nuclear agreement, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, by working out how the United States and Iran can resume compliance. 
Washington quit the JCPOA four years ago and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran which reacted by scaling down its commitments. 
While Vienna talks have been stalled for months over a few final disagreements, the three European parties along with the US pushed for a resolution at the IAEA board meeting to rebuke Iran for failure to give credible answers about uranium particles allegedly found at three undeclared sites. 
Tehran and the IAEA had agreed to resolve those safeguards issues by early June, but the director general reported prior to the quarterly meeting that Iran’s declarations were not justifiable. 
The western-sponsored resolution was passed last Wednesday despite opposition by Russia and China and abstentions from India, Pakistan and Libya. 
Iran described the move as “political” and reacted by curbing its cooperation with the IAEA so far as it concerned voluntary measures beyond the original obligations of the Safeguards Agreement. 
Bahadori Jahromi also censured the director general’s approach, saying he should have preserved the position of the international organization.  
“Iran has one of the most transparent nuclear programs and it was required of the agency to deal with the case differently,” Bahadori Jahromi said. 

No Dead End 

A member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission also highlighted Iran’s full cooperation with the IAEA, saying it has allowed most widespread and frequent inspections. 
“More than one fifth of all IAEA inspections are carried out in Iran,” Abolfazl Amoui told IRNA. 
He said removing surveillance cameras operating beyond safeguards obligations and increasing enrichment capacity by installing new-generation centrifuges are among the reciprocal measures supported by the parliament. 
“The Majlis supports the government’s measures in reaction to the agency while adhering to principles,” he said, adding that coordination between the government and parliament would definitely direct the other sides to moderate their maximalist demands. 
The lawmaker explained that the Majlis has determined its roadmap in the law, dubbed as strategic action plan to remove sanctions, which was passed in February 2020 and urged the government to reduce voluntary adherence to the Additional Protocol unless US sanctions are effectively removed. 
“The government which is responsible for negotiations and talks with the agency, pursues the agenda within the defined frameworks,” he said. 
Despite this friction between Iran and the agency, the Vienna negotiations still have a chance to succeed, according to Amoui. 
“The talks have not reached a dead end in our view, and communication between us and the US is still possible through European parties,” he said. 
He noted, however, the process is not going on at a favorable speed and Iran is critical of the other sides’ recent measures, including through the platform of the IAEA. 
“The progress of talks is not favorable and it is expected that the negotiations conclude with an end to US extraneous demands and its readiness to lift sanctions,” he said.
Iran demands that all components of the US so-called maximum pressure campaign initiated after its withdrawal from the JCOPA be removed. 
This includes all sanctions reimposed or introduced on Iranian individuals and entities as well as the terror designation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which the US insists is beyond the scope of the deal.