Tehran, IRNA – The Islamic Republic will not accept the issue of an interim deal in the Vienna talks, because such a temporary agreement will not be verifiable and it is proposed to weaken Iranians’ leverage in negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and lift anti-Iran sanctions, an expert said.
Abbas Aslani, a foreign policy expert, told IRNA on Monday that “those who put forward interim deal in the talks in Vienna, Austria, plan to force the Islamic Republic to succumb to their demands that are giving more concessions in terms of accepting less achievements and more restrictions than what had been agreed upon in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The reports published by some Western media on efforts to reach an interim deal in Vienna did not have any exact source, Aslani mentioned, adding that negotiating teams did not say anything about such a claim.
They may propagate such a rumor that Russia proposed the interim deal in a bid to overshadow achievements of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s recent visit to Moscow.
As for Iranians’ serious rejection of efforts to propose an interim deal from the beginning of the Vienna talks, the analyst noted that American media outlets published the fake news with the aim of putting in the shade the successful meeting of President Raisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Based on what has been emphasized by sources close to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna, the Islamic Republic has no intention to negotiate on interim deal, because as Iranian officials such as Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, Tehran is seeking a lasting and reliable agreement.
***Interim deal unverifiable and fruitless
Such an interim deal cannot provide Iran with assurances and verifications that Tehran demands to be sure that other sides especially the US will not repeat withdrawal from the JCPOA once more, Aslani said.
Revealed reports in Western media prove that the West is suggesting the interim deal aiming to restrict Iran’s capabilities in particular enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, he said, noting that such an interim deal can be used to weaken Iranians’ bargaining power in the Vienna talks.
The European and American sides want to prolong the negotiation process in order to make the other side tired and squeeze more concessions, the expert argued.
When the West proposes an interim deal that can be translated into the fact that they are not ready to return to implementing their commitments under the JCPOA.
The United States’ President Joe Biden is facing pressures from republicans and even some democrats, who oppose Washington’s returning to the nuclear agreement; so, the Biden administration is seeking an interim deal in a bid to give less concessions and restrict parts of Iranian nuclear program.
Moreover, Aslani said, certain regional players such as the Zionist regime have put pressure on the US; therefore, the White House has not been able to make a serious decision on returning to the JCPOA.
The so-called interim deal is a diplomatic trap in order to weaken the Islamic Republic’s leverages in the Vienna talks for removal of anti-Iran sanctions and revival of the nuclear accord, the analyst concluded.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
