At a time when negotiations between the parties to the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna, Austria, were deadlocked, the United Nations Security Council held a public meeting on the Iranian nuclear issue on December 14.
The United States released a "positive signal", saying that US President Joe Biden has said that if Iran is willing to re-fulfill its obligations under the Iranian nuclear agreement, the United States is "fully prepared to revoke all sanctions that do not conform to the commitments of the agreement." But the United States also fiercely criticized Iran for its "lack of sincerity" in dealing with the negotiations, threatening that Iran's "upgrading of the nuclear program" would not increase the chips for the negotiations.
Iran is "tit-for-tat" and criticizes the Unilateral Withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA as the root of the problem. Iran reiterates that the United States should take the lead in lifting the "illegal sanctions" against Iran, and the parties to the agreement need to commit themselves to fully and verifiably implementing the obligations under the Iranian nuclear agreement.
China and Russia pointed out that the root cause of the problem in the negotiations on the comprehensive return to the Iranian nuclear agreement lies precisely in the United States, and the continuous maximum pressure on Iran by the United States is not conducive to negotiations. Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the United States should first lift all illegal sanctions against Iraq and third parties, and Iraq should resume full compliance on this basis.
Geng Shuang pointed out that all parties should earnestly eliminate interference and ensure that the negotiations do not go to extremes and do not go astray. The Iranian side should also understand the concerns of all parties about the rapid development of its nuclear capabilities, maintain constructive cooperation with the Agency, and resolve relevant outstanding issues at an early date.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached an agreement with Iran on the 15th to install new surveillance cameras at a nuclear facility in Iran's Karaj region to replace the surveillance equipment that was dismantled at the facility earlier this year.
The U.S. said it was "ready to lift sanctions" but accused Iran of "lack of sincerity."
According to a press release released on the website of the US Mission to the United Nations on the 14th, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, first made a positive statement in the Security Council. She said that US President Joe Biden has proposed that if Iran is willing to re-fulfill its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States will also abide by the agreement.
Greenfield said the United States is fully prepared to lift sanctions that do not meet the commitments of the JCPOA, "which will allow Iran to reap economic benefits from them." "We are confident that if Iran comes to the Talks in Vienna with a sense of urgency and sincerity, we can quickly reach a mutually beneficial understanding." "But we cannot allow Iran to accelerate its nuclear program and slow down its diplomacy," she said. ”
Screenshot of the website of the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations
But she then lashed out at Iran for engaging in the talks in a "provocative manner." Greenfield accused Iran of putting forward a "vague, unrealistic, extreme, and unconstructive position" on the Iranian nuclear issue and "withdrawing all concessions from the previous six rounds of negotiations."
Greenfield said that Iran's negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue "lack a sense of urgency" and that the continued escalation of the Iranian nuclear issue is not in line with the goal of the two sides to resume fulfilling their obligations under the agreement. "Iran's actions will not provide it with any bargaining leverage, but will only exacerbate our 'concerns' about Iran's activities," she threatened. ”
Britain, France and Germany also issued a joint statement criticizing Iran on the 14th. According to Reuters, France's permanent representative to the United Nations, Nicolas DeLivière, read a statement saying that the continuous escalation of Iran's nuclear program may make the Iranian nuclear agreement a "dead letter" and that the escalation of the situation on the Iranian nuclear issue "is undermining international peace and security and the global non-proliferation regime.".
Iran: The success of the negotiations does not depend on mutual accusations and threats and intimidation
For the ACCUSATIONS of the United States, the Iranian side "tit-for-tat" rebutted, pointing out that the Unilateral Withdrawal of the United States from the Iranian Nuclear Agreement and the re-imposition of sanctions are the root cause of the problem. According to Iranian English news TELEVISION Press TV, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Majid Tahit-Lavanhi, reiterated in the Security Council on the 14th that the measures taken by the Iranian side after the United States withdrew from the agreement were reversible, and the United States should revoke sanctions.
Screenshot of a press TV report in Iran
Ravanshi said that Iran is determined to make every effort to resume the Iranian nuclear agreement, and Iran has shown sincere political will, serious attitude and constructive contacts with relevant parties in Vienna to promote a good agreement. He pointed out that the United States' participation in the negotiations on the lifting of sanctions against Iraq with real political will and sincerity is the key to the success of the negotiations.
He believes that resolving the current problems requires all parties to commit themselves to the comprehensive, objective and verifiable implementation of the JCPOA and lifting sanctions on Iran; the US side needs to ensure that it will not withdraw from the agreement like the previous government and will not abuse the procedures stipulated in the JCPOA and relevant Security Council resolutions. "Negotiations can succeed, but not by mutual accusations, deadlines, threats and intimidation, or baseless allegations and disinformation."
A new round of negotiations between the parties to the JCPOA resumed in Vienna, Austria, on November 29, suspended on December 3, and resumed on December 9. However, judging from the statements of the participants, the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue are still slow.
On November 29, a new round of negotiations between the parties to the Iranian nuclear agreement was held in Vienna
According to Qatar's Al Jazeera tv station reported on the 14th, Russia's chief negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov said on social media on the 13th that many problems still exist, but all parties are trying to bridge their differences. Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani tweeted on the 14th that diplomacy is a two-way street, but some negotiators still insist on "playing the accusatory game" and "have no intention of carrying out real diplomacy".
Al Jazeera believes that the statement may be criticizing Britain, France, Germany and the United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement, implying that they "lack the political will to reach an agreement."
However, Ulyanov also said that judging from Bagheri-Carney's other public comments, Tehran is generally satisfied with the progress of the negotiations, and other participants seem to be willing to take a "pragmatic" approach, and the discussion is making progress.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached an agreement with Iran on the 15th to install new surveillance cameras at a nuclear facility in Iran's Karaj region to replace the surveillance equipment that was dismantled at the facility earlier this year. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said this was an important development in the Agency's verification and monitoring activities in Iran and hoped that the two sides would continue constructive discussions to resolve all unsafeguarded issues.
China and Russia: The United States continues to exert extreme pressure on Iraq as the root cause of the problem
Regarding the deadlock in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, Both China and Russia pointed out that the root cause of the negotiation problem lies precisely in the United States, and the "maximum pressure" on Iran is not conducive to the negotiation process.
According to the Russian "Izvestia" reported on the 15th, Dmitry Polyyansky, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said on the 14th, "We believe that it is dangerous and irresponsible to publicize the statement that the Iranian nuclear agreement is outdated and needs to be updated." The agreement contained a carefully verified balance of interests and should not be subject to additional limitations or additions. ”
Poliyansky pointed out that the root cause of the current problem lies in the United States, and the US policy of continuing to exert maximum pressure on Iran is regrettable. He stressed that the United States must use practical actions to confirm their remarks on "resuming the implementation of obligations under the Iranian nuclear agreement."
"The Russian side's remarks that the 'Iranian nuclear agreement is outdated' are dangerous," russian newspaper Izvestia reported in a screenshot
According to the news on the website of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations on the 14th, Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, also pointed out on the same day that the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement and continued to exert maximum pressure on Iraq, which is the initiator of the current Iranian nuclear crisis. The US side has been shouting that multilateralism is back, diplomacy is back, and the resumption of talks is a test of the ATTITUDE of the US side. The United States should first lift all illegal sanctions against Iraq and third parties, and Iraq should resume full compliance on this basis.
Geng Shuang said that repeatedly hyping up the issue of Iraq's missile launchers, using the International Atomic Energy Agency to exert pressure on Iraq, frequently advocating a "PlanB" to deal with the breakdown of negotiations, and even threatening to resort to the Security Council's "rapid restoration of sanctions mechanism" will interfere with the current process of resuming talks, undermine the efforts of all parties to maintain the JCPOA, and will also lead to more complicated the Iranian nuclear situation. All parties should earnestly eliminate the above-mentioned interference and ensure that the negotiations do not go to extremes and do not go astray. The Iranian side should also understand the concerns of all parties about the rapid development of its nuclear capabilities, maintain constructive cooperation with the Agency, and resolve relevant outstanding issues at an early date.
Screenshot of the website of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations
Rosemary DiCarlo, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations in charge of political and peace-building affairs, also called on the United States to lift sanctions on Iran on the 14th. According to the United Nations news website, Di Carlo believes that the attitude of the United States and Iran in seeking to fully implement the Iranian nuclear agreement is encouraging, and the two countries should push for a mutually acceptable agreement as soon as possible.
Di Carlo said she joined U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in calling on the United States to lift sanctions on Iran, extend exemptions to oil trade with Iran, and extend exemptions to certain civilian nuclear activities. She also called on Iran to rescind steps that violate its commitments under the agreement.
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