Blinken: Window for Iran Deal is “Very, Very Short”

The US Secretary of State announced that he cannot set a deadline for nuclear talks but the window for reaching an agreement with Iran has become very short. Robert Malley, the US envoy for Iran affairs, also warned about the end of the negotiation period.

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, told reporters at a press conference that he does not intend to set a time limit for the remaining window of opportunity, but the chance of reaching an agreement has become “very, very, very short.”

According to Blinken, reviving the JCPOA is becoming increasingly difficult with the progress Iran makes every day in its nuclear program.

The US Secretary of State also warned that Iran will not be allowed to continue advancing its atomic program by dragging out negotiations.

Blinken emphasized that if no agreement is reached, the United States will pursue other options.

American officials have repeatedly expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear program progress and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has come closer to building atomic weapons.

Iran insists that it is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program, but Western powers say that this country’s enriched uranium reserves go beyond a peaceful nuclear program and can be used for producing nuclear weapons.

Anthony Blinken said in early June of this year before members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee that the nuclear agreement had extended the time necessary for possible weapons production to more than a year, but in recent months Iran has reduced this time by using advanced centrifuges and uranium enrichment at concentrations of 20 and 60 percent. According to Blinken, this time is at best a few months and if this situation continues it will reach a few weeks.

Robert Malley: We Have Only a Few Weeks Left

Robert Malley, Special Envoy of the US State Department for Iran Affairs, also told CNN in an interview that only “a few weeks” remain before Iran reaches a point with its current nuclear activities where the JCPOA would no longer exist.

Malley added: “In the not-too-distant future, we must come to the conclusion that the JCPOA no longer exists and negotiate for a completely different agreement and leave the period of escalating crisis behind us.”

In this interview, Malley warned about the end of the negotiation period and the danger of a “severe crisis” erupting.

The US Special Envoy for Iran Affairs participates indirectly in negotiations to revive the JCPOA.

The seventh round of JCPOA revival talks in Vienna resumed on Monday, December 29 (November 29) after a five-month pause with Iran, with the presence of members of the P4+1 group and the European Union as well as a delegation from Iran in the city of Vienna.

The talks were suspended again two weeks later (December 26) at Iran’s request.

After the end of the seventh round of nuclear talks in Vienna, Iran has not announced the exact date of returning to the JCPOA session, but Russia’s representative said that talks will resume on December 27 at the expert level or January 3, 2022.

Source: DW