TEHRAN — Iran said Monday it has detected a new “realism” on the part of Western countries, ahead of further negotiations in Vienna aimed at removing inhuman sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“We sense a retreat, or rather realism from the Western parties in the Vienna negotiations, that there can be no demands beyond the nuclear accord” struck by Tehran and other countries in 2015, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.
However, “it is too early to judge if the United States and the three European countries have drawn up a real agenda to commit to lifting sanctions,” he said.
Negotiations to restore the accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and remove sanctions on Tehran began last year but stopped in June as Iran elected President Ebrahim Raisi.
They resumed in late November and the latest round was due to restart on Monday after a three-day break for the end of year holidays.
“If we have a common text today, that’s because the Western side realized that it must back down from its maximalist demands, and what we have today is the result of the Western parties’ realization in the Vienna talks that they cannot demand anything beyond the JCPOA on the nuclear issue while implementing less commitments on removing sanctions than those stipulated under the JCPOA,” Khatibzadeh said.
The 2015 deal offered Iran relief from sanctions in return for some curbs on its nuclear energy program.
But then-U.S. president Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal in 2018 prompted Tehran to scale back its compliance after a year of “strategic patience” which saw the remaining signatories of the accord fail to support Iran and protect it from the sanctions.
“Today is the time for the opposing parties to show their commitment and show that we can progress in the area of lifting sanctions, of guarantees and verification, on which we have made little progress,” the spokesman said.
On Thursday, Washington voiced concern about a new Iranian space launch last week but indicated it was still pursuing diplomacy to return to a nuclear deal.
Khatibzadeh noted that Iran and the U.S. exchange their views via indirect, written texts in order to avoid any misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
He said progress has been made on four areas of the talks, namely the removal of the sanctions, nuclear issues, the question of U.S. guarantees and the verification.
“Iran’s nuclear program was effectively constrained by the JCPOA,” Khatibzadeh said. “That is why we are seeking a mutual return to full compliance with the deal.”