Against the backdrop of ongoing Palestinian-Israeli tensions and prominent spillover effects, the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear issue has been recalled. According to recent reports in Iranian media, Iran is in contact with the United States to seek to resume the long-stalled negotiations on the implementation of the JCPOA.
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Iran's Info, citing sources, said that the Iranian mission to the UN is coordinating negotiations. According to the report, it was not Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri who led the negotiations, but Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir Said Irawani.
According to the report, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian confirmed on the 20th that he also held negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal while in New York, but did not provide more details, including whether the negotiations were held with US representatives. However, Abdollahian made it clear that Iran is open to a diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict.
Analysts: Iran wants to use the conflict with Israel as a lever to restart negotiations with Iran
The media quoted analysts as saying that Tehran's leadership wants to use the recent military clashes with Israel as a lever to restart negotiations on the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. The agreement was reached during the administration of former US President Barack Obama. In 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, exerting maximum pressure on Iran. After several rounds of negotiations, the Iranian nuclear issue reached an impasse in August 2022.
Iranian media reported that IAEA Director General Grossi's planned visit to Tehran was also thought to be motivated by the same considerations.
What are Iran's considerations for seeking to resume negotiations on the implementation of the JCPOA?
So, is Iran's current engagement with the United States, such as the resumption of negotiations on the implementation of the JCPOA, related to the recent military conflict between Iran and Israel? What are Iran's considerations? Let's take a look at the experts' interpretations.
Niu Xinchun, Executive Dean of the China Institute of Arab Studies at Ningxia University: Iran's proposal to discuss the nuclear issue with the United States at this point in time has at least three considerations. The first consideration is to resume contacts with the United States on nuclear issues. In fact, before the Gaza conflict on October 7 last year, relations between Iran and the United States were improving. At that time, an agreement was also reached between Iran and the United States, in which the United States agreed to unfreeze Iran's six billion dollars in South Korea, and Iran agreed to release several Americans held in Iran. Originally, after the agreement was reached, both Iran and the United States agreed that the next stage would be negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue. But because of the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, this contact between the United States and Iran was interrupted. Now Iran wants to continue this.
Niu Xinchun, Executive Dean of the China Institute of Arab Studies at Ningxia University: The second reason is the recent incident that after Iran's attack on Israel on April 13, all seven Western countries agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran, especially Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In the past two days, Western countries have been discussing how to impose sanctions on Iran and what kind of additional sanctions should be imposed on Iran. Therefore, Iran's current proposal to negotiate with the United States on the nuclear issue is actually an attempt to hedge against the sanctions against Iran that the United States and Europe are now discussing.
Niu Xinchun, Executive Dean of the China Institute of Arab Studies at Ningxia University: The third reason is that Iran wants to change its passive to active diplomacy and get rid of the isolation of the United States and Europe from Iran in the past two or three years. Since the emergence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States and Europe have strengthened economic sanctions on Iran under the pretext that Iran has provided drones to Russia, and has also tightened diplomatic isolation against Iran. Especially since the emergence of the Gaza conflict last year, the United States and Europe have grouped Iran into one camp with Allah, Hamas, and Yemen's Houthi rebels, and imposed broader diplomatic isolation on Iran. The nuclear issue, or nuclear negotiations, is a very important card in Iran's hand. Negotiations on the nuclear issue could bring Iran out of its diplomatic isolation and make it possible for Iran to force the United States and Europe to reduce or lift sanctions on Iran.