Blinken: Iran’s Opportunity for JCPOA Negotiations is Running Out

Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, warned about the prolongation of negotiations to revive the JCPOA and said, “the JCPOA ball is in Iran’s court” and the opportunity is coming to an end. So far, no specific date has been set for resuming JCPOA negotiations in Vienna.

Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, warned on Thursday, September 29 (October 8 in the Persian calendar), “The time for the Islamic Republic to return to the nuclear agreement is coming to an end, responsibilities rest on Iran’s shoulders, and the JCPOA ball is now in Iran’s court”.

Blinken told reporters on the sidelines of U.S.-European Union trade talks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that U.S. President Joe Biden is willing to return the United States to the 2015 agreement, in which Iran significantly reduced its nuclear activities in exchange for economic promises.

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president, imposed extensive sanctions against the Islamic Republic following his unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA.

Iran also gradually withdrew from its JCPOA commitments. The use of more advanced centrifuges and the increase in enriched uranium stockpiles can be cited in this regard.

Iran wants sanctions lifted, but the U.S. government has called on the Islamic Republic to fulfill its JCPOA commitments.

Blinken told reporters that returning to JCPOA conditions would not in some cases be sufficient to benefit from the agreement’s advantages due to the advancement and development of Iran’s nuclear program.

This is not the first time the U.S. Secretary of State has warned about the delay in JCPOA negotiations and the development of Iran’s nuclear program, turning it into an “unsolvable obstacle”.

The European Troika (Britain, France and Germany), the United States, and even officials from China and Russia have criticized the delay in Vienna talks to revive the JCPOA.

Blinken emphasized that the Biden administration has been negotiating in good faith for months through indirect talks in Vienna with Iran regarding returning to JCPOA commitments, but the opportunity to return to the JCPOA is not unlimited.

The Vienna talks, which are referred to as negotiations to “revive the JCPOA”, have been suspended since the end of Hassan Rouhani’s administration and have not yet resumed despite Ibrahim Raisi coming to power.

Date for Resuming JCPOA Negotiations Not Set

Officials of the Islamic Republic have announced that they will return to talks. Ibrahim Raisi recently said that the Islamic Republic is “seeking outcome-oriented negotiations and the lifting of sanctions”.

However, no date has yet been set for resuming JCPOA negotiations in Vienna.

Blinken noted that he cannot set a specific date for a possible U.S. withdrawal from the negotiation process, but he can clearly state that reaching this point is getting increasingly closer.

The prolongation of the time to return to Vienna talks has heightened the concerns of Western countries, as Iran, by delaying the date of negotiations, has simultaneously intensified its nuclear activities.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said in a press conference in Doha on Thursday, September 29 (October 8 in the Persian calendar), that nuclear talks with Iran will begin within an “acceptable timeframe”.

Iranian officials give vague answers about the timing of resuming JCPOA revival negotiations and do not set a date for these talks.

“We Will Not Waste Even a Minute Returning to Vienna”

Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde that the Raisi government will decide in the coming weeks about the time to return to talks.

He added: “I believe that within a few weeks we will be in a position to meet with our friends in Europe, and we will not waste even a minute returning to Vienna.”

The spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Le Monde that Iran’s new government will return to the negotiating table faster than what the Joe Biden administration did after coming to power in America.

Negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna resumed on April 6, 77 days after Joe Biden came to power on January 20. Now 50 days have passed since Iran’s new government came to power.

Source: DW