A photo taken on November 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, during a ceremony to officially kick off the second reactor at the facility.
ATTA KENARE | AFP via Getty Images
US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley on Sunday said he did not believe a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran was imminent, dampening expectations after 11 months of stalled negotiations in Vienna.
Failure to revive the pact, which would limit Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of tough sanctions, could lead to war, analysts say. regional conflict, or lead to harsher Western sanctions and further increases in world oil prices.
“I couldn’t believe it was coming.. a few months ago, we thought we were pretty close as well,” Malley said at the Doha Forum international conference.
“In any negotiation, when there are issues that remain open for so long, it tells you something about how difficult it is to close the gap.”
His assessment of the Vienna talks to restore the 2015 nuclear accord comes after Kamal Kharrazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said an agreement could be soon. born.
“Yes, it is about to happen. It depends on the political will of the United States,” Kharrazi said at the conference.
Then-US President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear treaty in 2018, prompting Tehran to begin violating the nuclear limits set forth under the agreement about a year later, and negotiations continued many times over. months to restore it were halted earlier this month after Russia offered a new deal. trouble.
Russia later said it had received written assurances that it would be able to do its job as a party to the deal, suggesting Moscow could allow it to be resuscitated.
Kharrazi said that for the deal to be revived, it is important for Washington to eliminate the foreign terrorist organization (FTO) against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite unit according to the report. by Khamenei.
The IRGC, founded by the late founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the 1979 revolution, is more than just a military force.
It was also an industrial empire with enormous political influence. It is listed by Washington as a specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) and sanctioned under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in 2017.
The IRGC’s overseas branch of operations, the Quds Force, was labeled SDGT in 2007. The Trump administration added the IRGC organization to the FTO list in April 2019.
The Quds Force helps Iran spread its influence in the Middle East through proxy organizations.
“The IRGC is the national army and the national army being listed as a terrorist group is certainly unacceptable,” Kharrazi said.
When asked about any possible repositioning, Malley said: “No matter what happens with the IRGC issue you raise, our view on the IRGC is that many other sanctions against the IRGC will This is not an agreement intended to resolve that issue.”
Tehran is also pushing for guarantees that any future US presidents will not withdraw from the deal, which would limit Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of tough sanctions that have affected Tehran. to the Iranian economy.
The extent to which sanctions will be rolled back is another sensitive topic.
US allies in the Gulf and Israel view the nuclear talks with suspicion and see Tehran as a security threat.
Israel and the United States will cooperate in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran despite differences over any nuclear deal, Israel’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
“We have disagreements about a nuclear deal and its consequences, but open and honest dialogue is part of the strength of our friendship,” Yair Lapid said in Jerusalem at a news conference. with the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
