Provision of Guarantees Crucial to Conclusion of Nuclear Talks

Conclusion of talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal has been impeded by the United States’ failure to provide guarantees of continued adherence, a senior Iranian official said.
“The United States has not provided guarantees on preserving the nuclear deal and this ruins the possibility of any agreement,” Head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi said in an interview with Al Jazeera. 
Iran had agreed to curb its peaceful nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
The US withdrew in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions that prompted Tehran to exceed the JCPOA’s nuclear limits in response. 
Negotiations have been underway in Vienna, Austria, to work out how both sides can resume compliance, but have reached an impasse over a few remaining differences. 
Iran demands a full and verifiable removal of sanctions, as well as guarantees that no future US government would violate the deal again, before it reverses its nuclear measures. 
American officials say Washington is not legally able to provide such assurances because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally-binding treaty.
Bilateral talks late last month in Doha, Qatar, brokered and mediated by the European Union, did not help break the impasse either, but Iran and the EU said they would keep in touch about next stages.
Kharrazi said it is difficult to conduct direct dialogue with Washington in light of “a thick wall of mistrust” due to hostile US policies toward the Islamic Republic.

No Ambition for Bomb

Western countries have expressed serious concern about Iran’s nuclear advancements, including a dramatic increase in enrichment levels which came as part of countermeasures against the US “maximum pressure”. 
Iran is enriching to up to 60%, far above a cap of 3.67% under the JCPOA, but still below the 90% purity which is suitable for a nuclear bomb. 
In a recent visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia, US President Joe Biden vowed to stop Iran from “acquiring a nuclear weapon.”
Officials in Tehran have long denied seeking an atomic bomb, citing a religious decree by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that bans the production, storage and use of weapons of mass destruction. 
Kharrazi also rejected allegations that Iran has intentions to make nuclear weapons, although it possesses the technical capabilities. 
“In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium... Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision by Iran to build one,” he said.

Direct Response 

He also ruled out any possibility of any negotiation over Iran’s missile program and regional policies, as demanded by the West and its regional allies, saying any talks on the two subjects would mean submission to the enemy.
The Islamic Republic’s number one arch-enemy, Israel, who has normalized ties with a number of regional countries recently, has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to contain Tehran’s alleged nuclear ambitions.
Kharrazi said the Islamic Republic will respond in kind to any measure against its national security. 
“Targeting our security from neighboring countries will be met with a response to those countries and a direct response to Israel,” he warned, referring to regional countries who have normalized their relations with the regime. 
He added that Israel is in a phase of weakness and Biden’s support for the regime would fail to bring it back to the fore.
Iran has carried out extensive military drills to demonstrate its capability to hit targets deep inside Israel in the event “our vital and sensitive facilities are targeted,” according to Kharrazi.