International community hopes for a revival of Iran's nuclear deal

Iran has confirmed that talks with major powers on Tehran’s nuclear deal will resume after the Christmas holidays, while giving the “green light” to replace surveillance cameras at a nuclear facility. This is considered a positive signal to help revive the Iran nuclear deal.

A general view of the Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)
A general view of the Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed that negotiations on the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), scheduled to resume in Vienna, Austria, on December 27 after Christmas is forecast to be “very bleak” worldwide due to the Omicron variant.

Tehran’s statement came shortly after the parties, including the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany and Iran, had just concluded the latest round of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear deal in Vienna, while the US only participated in an indirect role.

The latest round of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear issue resumed in the efforts of the parties involved, but also experienced many ups and downs. The US did not directly participate in the negotiations of major powers with Iran. In 2018, then US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the deal because he thought that the JCPOA still had many “unsatisfactory” terms for Washington, and at the same time re-imposed tough sanctions against Iran.

On the other hand, Tehran also reduced its commitments to the deal after European mediation efforts failed, and laid out preconditions for the resumption of negotiations. In this very complicated context, the UK, France and Germany, cautiously judged that some technical progress had been made, but still urged Iran to quickly resume negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran also expressed a constructive spirit, while maintaining a tough stance against Western sanctions. Iran’s chief negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani stated that if the major powers accept Tehran’s position and reasonable stance an agreement is likely to be reached in the next round of negotiations. He also stressed that, while Iran has shown seriousness and constructive spirit, the remaining parties also need to show goodwill and commitment in implementing the JCPOA.

However, the views of Iran and the US are still very different. While Tehran has cited sanctions relief as its top condition, Washington remains resolute to see Iran return to compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal before considering the lifting of sanctions.

This disagreement is the main reason why the nuclear negotiation process has stalled. A goodwill of Iran has been recognised by the international community. In the context of negotiations that have not yet made a breakthrough, Tehran has just “greenlighted” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to replace damaged surveillance cameras in the TESA nuclear complex in Karaj, west of Tehran. Iran stressed that this is Tehran's voluntary action to end misunderstandings in relations with the IAEA.

In the context of the Omicron variant is spreading grey around the world, the international community is looking forward to a breakthrough outcome in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue in order to help the people of the Islamic Republic and The Middle East region welcome a new year in peace, security and stability.

Translated by NDO