IRIA News

European Union has presented a “final text” to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers. The latest round of talks focused on “technical adjustments” to the proposed text.

Negotiators from Iran, the United States, the European Union, and others resumed talks in Vienna on August 4 aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear agreement. The negotiations appear to be a last-ditch effort at reviving Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The final draft text specifies the steps that Iran and the U.S. will have to take to return to full compliance with the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who circulated the final draft text, said: “What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it’s now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every, paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals. If these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal.”

After the text was circulated by the EU, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian held a telephonic conversation with Borrell and conveyed Iran’s “views and considerations”. Amirabdollahian also stated that Iran expects “seriousness” from all sides to achieve a deal.

Earlier, Iranian officials expressed their reservations about some of the points and highlighted that the parties are not yet “at a stage to finalize the text” and need to have further discussions.

Negotiators used these days of discussions and proximity talks between the US and Iran to fine tune and address – with technical adjustments – a handful of issues remaining in the text that I have put on the table last July 21, as coordinator of the #JCPOA nuclear deal.
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— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 8, 2022

Russian chief negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov highlighted that the final text has been reviewed by the parties and if the U.S. and Iran have no objections, then the JCPOA deal can be restored.

Last month in order to increase pressure on Western countries, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami announced that Iran plans to turn off the surveillance system of its nuclear plants that have been installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Eslami stated that “those cameras are related to the nuclear deal. If Westerners return to this pact and we are certain they will not commit any mischief, we will make a decision on these cameras.”

On August 4 U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the United States is “not going to wait forever for Iran to take this deal.” Kirby added that “time does appear to be getting very short in terms of being able to get to a deal… we urge Iran to take this deal on the table.”

Since the U.S. has pulled out of the deal, Iran’s nuclear program has been progressing rapidly. The revival of Iran’s nuclear deal seemed to be approaching in March this year, however, the talks came to a halt when Iran conditioned that talks with the removal of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.

IRGC is Iran’s top intelligence and elite arms unit that Washington accuses of a global terrorist campaign. U.S. President Joe Biden has made it clear that his administration does not plan to remove the IRGC from its FTO list anytime soon.

In 2015, Iran signed the nuclear deal to curb its nuclear program in return to have some economic sanctions lifted, however, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018 in order to reinstate the economic sanctions on Iran.

Under the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, including the U.S., Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany, Tehran agreed to limit uranium enrichment, not to divert any fissile material, and allow IAEA inspectors. Iran’s production of enriched uranium is widely used as fuel for nuclear power plants but could also be used for the development of nuclear weapons. Although Iran insists that it does not seek nuclear weapons, many Western countries argue that Tehran has enriched uranium to 60% and deployed advanced centrifuges.