Sticking Points in Nuclear Talks Outlined

Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal during proximity talks in Doha due to two sticking points, a lawmaker said. 
“One of them is our economic benefit … and the other is the blacklist,” Vahid Jalalzadeh, head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said on state television on Saturday, according to ICANA. 
Tehran and Washington have been at odds over conditions of restoring the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
The JCPOA offered sanctions relief to Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear activity, but the US pulled out four years ago and reimposed tough sanctions, which Tehran responded to by rowing back on its commitments. 
Negotiations began in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria, to work out how both sides can resume compliance, but the talks reached an impasse in March over a few remaining differences. 

Broken Promises 

“Unfortunately, on the final days of negotiations in March, the US … went back on the promises it had given during the very Vienna talks to the European parties, China, Russia and Iran, which resulted in a four-month pause,” Jalalzadeh said. 
The European Union as coordinator of JCPOA eventually arranged indirect talks between the two in Doha, Qatar, to address those bilateral issues before all parties could gather to finalize a deal in Vienna. 
Iran and the US, however, did not manage to resolve their differences during the first round of the proximity negotiations on June 28-29. 
“The issue of our economic benefit and guarantees and the issue of the blacklist are still under dispute,” Jalalzadeh said. 
Tehran demands a verifiable removal of all sanctions imposed after the US exit from the deal, along with assurances that they would not be imposed again later or under a new administration.
US officials argue that they are not legally able to bind a future government. 
“Unfortunately, the Americans would not agree to give the Islamic Republic guarantees, even to the end of [US President Joe] Biden’s term, so that we feel that we will receive economic benefits from the US return to the JCPOA and the continuation of this process,” Jalalzadeh said. 
The other area of dispute that the two countries failed to overcome was the blacklisted individuals and entities, according to the lawmaker. 
Iran, the European and American sides had come up with a list of real and legal persons in Vienna that must have been removed from the US blacklist of terrorist organizations, he said. 
“The Americans maintain that anytime the necessity arises, they will add these individuals [and entities] to the [blacklist] again, which would defeat the purpose [of negotiations],” he said. 

Safeguards Issue 

Jalalzadeh also pointed to Iran’s safeguards issue with the International Atomic Energy Agency as another obstacle to the process of reaching a deal on JCPOA.  
“The safeguards issue is another matter of dispute because we were given a promise that the problem would be settled with the agency within the framework of negotiations and this was among Iran’s demands,” he said. 
The IAEA claims to have found uranium particles at three undeclared sites in Iran which require explanation. 
In March, the global watchdog reached an understanding with Iran, based on which Iran agreed to provide the required documents before the IAEA Board of Governors’ meeting in early June. 
The director general, however, reported prior to the board meeting that Iran’s explanations were not credible, which resulted in the Board of Governors’ passing of a western-sponsored resolution against Iran. 
Tehran described the report as “unbalanced and unfair” and responded by further advancing its nuclear activity and curbing cooperation with the IAEA beyond its safeguards obligations. 
As part of the countermeasures, Iran removed 27 IAEA surveillance cameras which operated under additional protocols.