The hard-to-remove knot of a “nuclear profile”

The majority of lawmakers of the Iranian Parliament signed a letter to President Ebrahim Raisi, to express support for Tehran's return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with global powers, but with six conditions.

Iranian lawmakers attend a session of the Parliament in Tehran. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Iranian lawmakers attend a session of the Parliament in Tehran. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The move demonstrates Tehran's goodwill and also the tough attitude of Iranian lawmakers, before the demands of the US and its European allies. Although it seems there is only abit more to be able to “touch” an agreement, it is an extremely difficult step, because there remains a gap in the views between the US and Iran.

The letter, signed by 250 out of 290 parliamentarians, states that the US and European parties should guarantee that they would not exit a restored agreement, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), nor trigger the “snapback mechanism” under which sanctions on Iran would be immediately reinstated, if it violates nuclear compliance.

Iranian lawmakers also called on the government, not to commit to any agreement without obtaining necessary guarantees first. The lawmakers also outlined other conditions for Iran to return to the deal, including that all sanctions must be lifted and Tehran must receive money from its exports. Because, Iran asserted that the US and European countries failed to comply with the obligations in the JCPOA, in terms of economic impacts on Iran and the lifting of sanctions against Iran, the deal has become an empty shell.

The letter was sent to the head of the Iranian Government in the context of the parties participating in the ongoing negotiations in Vienna (Austria) to restore the JCPOA, which is approaching the final steps and is assessed to soon reach an agreement, if parties accept further concessions.

The conditions set forth by Iranian parliamentarians are said to be a “red line” message to Iranian negotiators in Vienna, with certain limits and no tolerance on some issues. Iran said it will not conduct any further negotiations beyond the nuclear deal with a “non-compliant America and a passive Europe”.

Affirming that it did not feel any guarantees, first from the US side, Iran called on the US Congress to issue a “political statement”, that Washington will stay committed to a possible agreement in the Vienna talks to restore the JCPOA. Iran also proposed Western parties that at least their parliaments or parliament speakers, including the US Congress, can declare, in the form of a political statement, their commitment to the agreement and the return to the JCPOA implementation.

The tough move from Iran is to give a commensurate response to the US side. More than 160 Republican Senators are threatening to disrupt a potential nuclear deal with Iran, while also warning President Joe Biden, that any deal signed without congressional approval would face opposition and would be overturned if the Republicans retake power.

In a letter to President Biden, members of the House Republicans referenced reports that Iran is asking for a “guarantee” that the US will never reimpose sanctions, as long as the Middle East nation agrees to comply with an agreement regarding its nuclear programme. They said such a deal would be “non-binding”.

The Republicans demanded Iran to fully dismantle their enrichment and reprocessing-related infrastructure capabilities, among other terms, including that all American hostages are released and the country's sponsorship of terrorism is ended.

Republican senators also sent a letter to President Biden, in an effort to prevent the US from returning to the JCPOA, because they believe anything beyond that would put the possibility of returning to the deal at grave risk. The US side does not want a deal that doesn’t guarantee Iran will give up its nuclear weapons ambitions, as Washington fears.

The demands of both Iran and the US are said to be difficult to accept the other side. Iran believed that it is time for Western countries to demonstrate “real goodwill” to reach an agreement in Vienna, while the US side demanded that Iran shows “seriousness” in negotiations. The most important knot related to the deep disagreements between Iran and the US has not been removed in the negotiations, it is difficult to close a thorny “nuclear profile”.