Blinken: We are approaching a point where returning to the JCPOA is no longer useful

The US Secretary of State warned during a visit to Berlin that time is running out for Iran to return to the JCPOA negotiations. The German Foreign Minister also described the period announced by Iran to return to the JCPOA negotiations as “very long.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, September 8, warned at a press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas about losing time to return to the nuclear deal with Iran.

Asked when it would be impossible to return to the JCPOA negotiations, Blinken said: "I will not announce a date, but we are approaching a point where returning to compliance with the JCPOA will no longer have the expected benefits and achievements."

He emphasized that after the publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on Iran's expansion of nuclear activities, time is running out for the Islamic Republic to return to the JCPOA.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Tuesday, September 7, that Iran has blocked monitoring activities at its nuclear sites and has also obstructed investigations into traces of enriched uranium at several facilities.

In addition, Iran has said that it will need two to three months to select a negotiating team to revive the JCPOA.

This issue, however, is not pleasing to the JCPOA negotiators, and in particular, three European countries in the JCPOA negotiations (Germany, Britain, and France) called for Iran's speedier return and warned that the time and opportunity to negotiate to revive the nuclear agreement is not "unlimited."

Heiko Maas: Germany considers Iran's delay too long

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in response to a question about Iran's return to the JCPOA negotiations in Vienna in the next two to three months, said that Germany considers the delay that Tehran has mentioned to be "too long."

Maas added that he had contacted his new counterpart in Tehran to convince him to "return to the JCPOA negotiating table as soon as possible."

Maas has said that Germany expects the new Iranian government to support the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna and to continue these talks.

The Vienna talks, known as the "revival of the JCPOA" talks, have been suspended since the Ebrahim Raisi government came to power. Officials in the Islamic Republic have expressed their readiness to continue the talks, but they have consistently emphasized the condition of lifting sanctions.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Ebrahim Raisi in a phone call on Wednesday, September 8, to resume nuclear talks as soon as possible. Raisi called for the lifting of sanctions and said, “We have no objection to fruitful negotiations, but the plan and outcome of the negotiations must be the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Negotiations for the sake of negotiations are useless.”

The sixth round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA ended in Vienna on June 20th, and an exact date for the seventh round of these negotiations has not yet been set.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's general meeting is scheduled to be held in Vienna on Tuesday, September 21.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has expressed hope that the seventh round of negotiations will begin before this general meeting.

Source: DW