Iran says it will respond to EU proposed text in "less than 12 hours"

These comments come as Iran's opponents in the negotiations to revive the JCPOA await Tehran's response to the European Union's proposed text, which, according to Politico, would ease pressure on the Revolutionary Guards while paving the way for Tehran to prevent further inspections of its suspected nuclear sites.

In his remarks today, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister emphasized that economic issues have not "suspended negotiations" and that "we are specifically exchanging views with the Americans on three issues and will present our opinions in the next few days."

The Foreign Minister and the Foreign Ministry spokesman did not provide any details on these issues. The President's Vice President for Political Affairs, Ebrahim Raisi, claimed in a Twitter message that "the US has retreated from its strategic goal of withdrawing from the 2015 agreement and applying a policy of maximum pressure."

Mohammad Jamshidi, Ebrahim Raisi's deputy, also wrote, without citing the source of his claim: "America was seeking 1- an eternal JCPOA and 2- regional and missile negotiations, which were ultimately pushed back from their ambitions."

In addition to what Politico has announced regarding the reduction of pressure on the IRGC and the prevention of further inspection of Iran's nuclear sites in the text proposed by the European Union, the Wall Street Journal has also claimed in a report that the European Union has given Iran a new "significant concession" to revive the JCPOA.

However, Robert Malley, the US State Department's special representative and the country's chief negotiator, has denied these reports and has only stated that "we have not committed in any negotiations to changing the reviews, customer verification or other standards consistent with US sanctions, which would remain in place if there is a reciprocal return to full implementation of the JCPOA."

The EU's proposed text for revitalizing the JCPOA was presented to the negotiating teams during the last round of Vienna talks, and these teams returned to their capitals on August 8 to consult with the leaders of their countries about this possible agreement text.

EU officials had previously said that the text developed in the Vienna talks was the "final text" and that the parties present would have to decide on it.

Yesterday, Sunday, August 13, the Russian representative in the negotiations announced that the United States had agreed to the proposed text of the agreement, but Iran had not yet responded.

Mikhail Ulyanov also predicted that if everything goes well, a final agreement on the revival of the JCPOA and Iran's nuclear program will be reached within the next few days.

The Islamic Republic had previously requested that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from the list of terrorist groups classified by the US State Department, a request that Washington repeatedly rejected.

Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson said on August 11, in response to Radio Farda regarding the recent Wall Street Journal report on the challenging issue of the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards in the discussion of revitalizing the JCPOA, that "Iran must answer the Agency's questions and Washington's approach in supporting the preservation of the Agency's independence and core mission will not change."

Western officials have emphasized that the prepared text is the final proposal of the countries involved in the negotiations and that Iran must announce its final opinion by making a political decision.

Source: Radio Farda