Iran And IAEA Reach Agreement Over Process To Resolve Issues
Saturday’s statement from Iran’s atomic chief and the UN nuclear watchdog head seems to have cleared an obstacle in the way of renewing the 2015 nuclear deal.
Saturday’s statement from Iran’s atomic chief and the UN nuclear watchdog head seems to have cleared an obstacle in the way of renewing the 2015 nuclear deal.
Rafael Mariano Gross, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, expressed agreement that Iran would by March 21 provide written answers to the agency over “outstanding issues” in Iran’s nuclear program.
But Grossi made it clear that the implementation of a new nuclear agreement would depend on Iran's satisfactory cooperation with IAEA>
There had been reports over the past week that Tehran’s failure to satisfy the IAEA over the issues relating to secret nuclear work carried out before 2003 – might derail talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). There had been speculation that Iran had demanded as a condition for agreement in Vienna that the IAEA drop these enquiries.
But with many participants saying talks are at a closing stage, the timeline agreed in Tehran Saturday by Grossi and Eslami − whatever informal understandings the two may have reached − suggests JCPOA restoration does not depend on the agency first being satisfied with Iran over the “outstanding issues.”
Written Explanations
The Grossi-Eslami statement agreement stipulates that once Iran provides “written explanations including related supporting documents” by March 21, there would be two weeks for the IAEA to raise questions, and another week for Iran to answer them before further meetings between the IAEA and the AEOI.
Grossi would then report to the IAEA board by June – which presumably explains Eslami’s reference to June made earlier in the day.
Sitting next to Grossi at the Tehran news conference Saturday, Eslami said, according to Reuters, that Iran would resolve “outstanding matters,” and that “we have agreed to provide the IAEA by the end of Khordad [the Iranian month ending June 21] with documents related to outstanding questions between Tehran and the agency.”
While the IAEA would monitor a restored JCPOA – with greater powers of inspections – the agency is not directly involved in the Vienna talks. Its enquiries into Tehran’s pre-2003 nuclear work are part of monitoring Iran’s atomic program under the ‘safeguards’ requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty.
‘Very important safeguards’
But while Iran has said the IAEA’s probe into “outstanding issues” resulted from political pressure, especially from the United States, its failure to satisfy the agency has cast a shadow over the Vienna talks and threatened to complicate the challenges in reviving the JCPOA.
"My impression is that it would be difficult to imagine you can have a cooperative relationship as if nothing had happened if the clarification of very important safeguards were to fail," Grossi told the press conference in Tehran when asked directly how the matter could affect the Vienna talks.
While diplomats in Vienna have said the negotiations have edged nearer agreement, there have been sticking-points in agreeing exactly which US sanctions contravene the JCPOA and exactly how Tehran’s refined and expanded nuclear program might be brought back within JCPOA limits. A further complication came Saturday when Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, suggested Moscow needed assurances that international sanctions over Ukraine would not hamper Russia’s links with Iran, including its co-operation in implementing a restored JCPOA.
While one lawmaker was certain that "Iran has reached an agreement better than before with the United States," another member of the Iranian parliament says that the Majles has been kept in the dark about the negotiations in Vienna.
Another Iranian lawmaker was quoted by local media as saying that he is less concerned about the initiatives and positions of the other side than about the plots being hatched by regime insiders in Iran to derail the negotiations.
Hardliner lawmaker Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini told Nameh News in Tehran that he is certain the negotiations will bear fruit and an agreement is at hand, although there are still issues that have not been tackled by the negotiators.
Naghavi-Hosseini said that Iran will announce its final verdict on the deal within a few days. He said Iran is adamant to reach a deal, adding that everything has been agreed upon except the guarantees that Iran demands that the next US President will not pull out of the nuclear agreement with Iran.
The hardliner lawmaker went on to say that the two sides have agreed all the sanctions imposed on Iran after President Donald Trump's pull-out from the JCPOA in 2018 will be lifted. What Iran and America have agreed upon is not much different from the JCPOA, he said and explained that Westerners are concerned about Iran's ability to enrich uranium beyond the 60-percent level.
Although Naghavi-Hosseini appeared or claimed to be well-informed about the deal, his colleague Jabbar Kouchakinejad told reporters on Thursday that the parliament has not been informed of the government's views about the talks. He also said that there are still problems about the impact of US sanctions on Iran's economy, insurance and oil industry and international trade which have not been resolved.
Kouchakinejad said there are a lot of ambiguities about a possible deal with America as Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has offered minimal explanations to lawmakers. He added that it is important for the Majles to make sure that any possible agreement does not undermine previous laws passed by the Majles.
Kouchakinejad added that the Majles is also concerned that problems in the United States' domestic politics could prompt any US government to withdraw from a deal with Iran. That is why Iran insists on getting guarantees from the US side, although so far Washington has refused to give any such guarantee.
Meanwhile, he said that as far as safeguard regulations of the JCPOA are concerned, Iran has red lines that cannot allow IAEA inspectors to visit some of its nuclear sites.
At the same time, former Iranian lawmaker Jalal Mirzaee told Asr-e Ma in Tehran that some political elements in Tehran are pushing hard to derail the nuclear talks. Mirzaee, a professor of political science, said that he is more concerned about the adverse impact of these moves than he is concerned about the decisions being made in other capitals.
He said moves opposing an agreement have intensified following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He warned that such moves which are motivated by factional interests have led to wasting of a lot of time and opportunities for Iran and could lead to further costs. "We should seize the opportunity and relieve the country of its tremendous financial difficulties while President Biden urgently needs a deal with Iran," Mirzaee said.