Tehran, 10 Feb (Xinhua) -- The parties to the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue resumed the eighth round of negotiations on the resumption of implementation by the United States and Iran in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on february 8. The current round of negotiations began on December 27, 2021, and was suspended at the end of January this year.
Analysts pointed out that judging from the statements of all parties, the resumption of negotiations on the implementation of the treaty has entered a critical stage of the final sprint. There is a possibility of a breakthrough in the negotiations, but there are still difficulties, especially the need for the United States, the initiator of the current impasse, to come up with more practical actions.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri prepares to enter the negotiating arena in Vienna, Austria, on February 8. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Georges Schneider)
Sprint phase
Recently, there have been many remarks that the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement have entered the final stage, and it has become the consensus of many parties to reach an agreement on resuming implementation as soon as possible.
CNN quoted a number of US government officials as saying on the 9th that the US government believes that it must "save" the Iranian nuclear agreement before the end of February. One of the senior U.S. government officials said: "We are really in the final stages. ”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullahyan said in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the 8th that Iran is resolutely seeking and preparing to reach a "good agreement" within the framework of its interests and rights as soon as possible.
Ulyanov, a Russian negotiator and Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, said in an interview with the Russian "Kommerskaya" a few days ago that although there are still several places that need to be consulted, the final document has been drafted, and "we are only five minutes away from the finish line."
Eu External Action Agency Deputy Secretary-General Mora said on social media that in order to return to the Iranian nuclear agreement, all parties should show a spirit of compromise and strive to quickly end the negotiations. German Chancellor Schoerz also said in an interview with the US media a few days ago that it has now reached a "decisive moment."
This is the scene of the meeting of the Political Director-General of the Joint Commission on the JCPOA on Iran, photographed in Vienna, Austria, on December 27. (Xinhua News Agency, courtesy of the EU Mission in Vienna)
Positive signals
When the "final stage" of the negotiations came, the US side also released a positive signal. On the 4th of this month, the US government announced the reinstatement of sanctions exemptions for some of Iran's civilian nuclear programs, saying that this move will help promote the Iranian nuclear negotiations. This move was affirmed by the Iranian side.
In addition, with the consent of the United States, the South Korean government paid Iran's United Nations dues of $18 million in January with Iranian funds frozen by the South Korean side due to U.S. sanctions.
Liu Lanyu, an expert on Iran at the Institute of International and Regional Studies at Tsinghua University, believes that these measures can be seen as an expression of sincerity on the PART of the United States. At present, positive statements on the negotiations have increased, revealing positive signals, and practical measures are also pushing the negotiations in a benign direction.
Fan Hongda, a professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai Chinese University, also said that the negotiations have now entered the final and most difficult stage. Combined with the public statements of all parties, although there are still difficulties, the overall prospects for negotiations are "relatively optimistic", and the United States and Iran have shown a positive attitude.
Resistance remains
According to CNN, the U.S. side hopes to reach an agreement as soon as possible, mainly because it is worried that Iran's nuclear program will achieve a breakthrough in the short term and wants to limit Iran's development of nuclear capabilities through an agreement.
However, due to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement before, even if the United States sends positive signals, it is difficult to exchange Iran's full trust. Abdullahyan affirmed the ABOVE move by the US side while arguing that this was "not enough" and pointed out that if the West did not take practical measures, the negotiations would not make rapid progress. Sharmhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said bluntly on social media that for Iran, real, effective and verifiable economic interests are necessary conditions for reaching an agreement, and if the United States only makes a "gesture" to lift sanctions, Iran believes that such a move is not "constructive".
This is the film taken by US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 28. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Shen Ting)
Iran's Tasnim News Agency quoted sources familiar with the negotiations as saying on the 7th that Iran has made political decisions on the Iranian nuclear negotiations, and "the main obstacle is the lack of political decisions in the United States."
Fan Hongda pointed out that although the US government has taken some positive gestures in lifting sanctions against Iran, some members of Congress have demanded that the agreement reached with Iran must be reviewed by Congress, otherwise it will prevent the implementation of the new agreement. They even threatened that once Biden's presidency ended, the United States would withdraw from the JCPOA again.
For the different positions of the United States in promoting the Iranian nuclear negotiations, Shamhani said on social media on the 9th that the US government cannot pay for its internal disputes by violating Iran's legitimate rights.
Analysts believe that if the US side sincerely hopes to reach an early agreement, it needs to take practical actions to lift sanctions in a down-to-earth manner and win the trust of Iran and the international community. But given the current polarization of domestic politics in the United States, whether the Biden administration can make such a political decision is still a question.