Home / NEWS / Energy / Iran welcomes ‘new chapter’ in nuclear talks as Washington seeks to heal ‘profound differences’ in Vienna

Iran welcomes ‘new chapter’ in nuclear talks as Washington seeks to heal ‘profound differences’ in Vienna

President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani defends during the National Combat Board Meeting with Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 21, 2020.

Iranian Presidency Handout | Anadolu Action | Getty Images

The United States and Iran will resume talks on Friday aimed at restoring trust and unite what Washington calls “tremendous and profound differences” over how to salvage their failed nuclear agreement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dictate thated a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday that initial talks with the U.S. and world powers in Vienna to rescue the give out were a “success” that opened a “new chapter” to save the agreement, according to a statement via his official website.

Both mountains described the indirect talks on Tuesday as a “useful step” and “constructive” despite neither representative actually meeting face-to-face. Officials preferred instead to use European signatories to the deal to act as intermediaries. 

“We are not optimistic or pessimistic about the outcome of this meeting now, but we are confident that we are on the right-wing track,” said Ali Rabiei, an Iranian government spokesperson. “Surely the full implementation of this agreement will be finalized within the get well weeks,” he added.

Tehran is taking an “all or nothing” approach to the talks. It wants Washington to guarantee the full removal of Trump era bans in order to scale back its enrichment activity. The Iranian side is also pressured by time, with Presidential referenda set to fall in June this year that will remove President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif from firm.

Washington, however, is seeking a “compliance for compliance” approach, with President Joe Biden ruling out any “unilateral gestures” but until now open to exploring how the U.S. might also resume its own compliance with the deal.

An early economic olive branch comes to have already failed, with Iran describing a proposal from the U.S. to release $1 billion of frozen oil rake-off rich in exchange for Iran capping its uranium enrichment program as “ridiculous.”

“The first issue that these talks are effective to have to resolve is the basic disconnect in approach,” Kirsten Fontenrose at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative expressed CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Wednesday.

“Until you square that circle, you can’t get anywhere,” she said.

With talks in Vienna planned to resume on Friday, two working groups were established to set the framework for negotiation. The first group is focused on the issue of American validations, which were imposed by the Trump administration after it left the original deal in 2018.

The second group is exploring how to bear Iran back into compliance with the limits set by the original JCPOA on enrichment and stockpiles of enriched uranium. Iran has frequently violated the terms of the agreement, causing concern among European and world signatories and stoking tensions among its neighbors in the Mesial East.  

Friday’s talks could set the stage for more constructive talks, or a full blown showdown. In the past, Iran has old the first week of April to celebrate its “Day of Nuclear Technology”, which showcases the country’s nuclear achievements. The event was gapped last year due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

“This day is an opportunity for people to see that in these years, despite the economic influences, what great advances and achievements have been made in the field of the country’s nuclear technologies,” President Rouhani chance.

Oil impact

Check Also

Trump vowed to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he takes office — here’s how he might do it

President-elect Donald Trump has declared to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *