German, British and French Diplomats: Iran’s Positions Contradict JCPOA

European diplomats negotiating in the JCPOA said they have not reached real negotiations with Iran and considered Iran’s positions to be in contradiction with the JCPOA. Iran announced that some actors are insisting on their habit of blame-shifting instead of engaging in genuine diplomacy.

Diplomats from Western European countries (Britain, Germany and France) present at the eighth round of nuclear agreement negotiations in Vienna announced on Monday, December 13, that Iran’s positions in the JCPOA negotiations in Vienna are “incompatible” with the provisions of the agreement.

These diplomats stated: “We have interacted for hours and all delegations have pressured Iran to act rationally. But so far we have been unable to reach real negotiations.”

European diplomats also expressed that they consider Iran’s new positions to be in contradiction with the JCPOA, and this issue has caused valuable time to be lost.

One day before the European side’s criticism, Ali Bagheri, Iran’s senior negotiator, had informed the IRNA news agency of “progress in preparing an agenda” in an interview.

Iran has asked the United States to lift all sanctions imposed during the Trump administration and commit that it will not withdraw from the JCPOA again.

Iranian officials emphasize that they are committed to serious negotiations, but Western countries have accused Tehran of backing away from the position it held earlier this year.

Iran’s Response to the Criticism of the European JCPOA Troika

The Islamic Republic of Iran did not leave the statements of representatives of Britain, France and Germany unanswered.

Ali Bagheri wrote on Tuesday, December 14, in a tweet about the ongoing negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the P4+1 group (Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia): “Some actors are insisting on their habit of blame-shifting instead of engaging in genuine diplomacy. We quickly presented our proposals and made constructive and flexible efforts to reduce differences.”

Bagheri further emphasized that diplomacy is a two-way street and wrote that if there is a will to remedy the fault of the culprit, the path to a good agreement will be paved quickly.

Iranian media reported that Ali Bagheri nevertheless called the ongoing talks in Vienna “positive and forward-moving.”

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that the United States is preparing measures that it will implement if negotiations fail.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke of “possible options” for the United States in the event of failure of the current JCPOA revival negotiations in Vienna.

The eighth round of JCPOA negotiations resumed on Thursday, December 9, after a six-day pause.

Source: DW