Reuters: Iran Retreats in Vienna Negotiations and Returns to Rouhani-Era Agreements

Reuters reported on Friday, December 10, that according to a European diplomat, Iranian negotiators in Vienna have accepted that negotiations will continue based on the content of texts agreed upon until June of this year.

Iranian negotiators during the Rouhani administration and countries participating in the JCPOA reached agreements in six rounds of talks to revive the nuclear deal held in Vienna with indirect American participation, concerning how to lift Iran’s sanctions and the full implementation of the JCPOA by Iran.

However, the new negotiating team in the Raisi administration submitted two new draft proposals last week in the seventh round of talks, eliminating most of these agreements, which were immediately labeled as “unacceptable” and “overreach” by Western parties.

The unnamed European source told Reuters that it will become clear within the coming days whether Iran will in practice continue negotiations based on previous agreements or not.

Currently, representatives of Iran and member countries of the JCPOA are in Vienna to continue the eighth round of talks, but Robert Malley, the senior American negotiator, has not yet traveled to Vienna.

Meanwhile, Ali Bagheri, Iran’s senior negotiator, in an interview with Reuters, referred to the absence of the American representative and considered the presence of Iranian negotiators in Vienna as a sign of Iran’s seriousness, saying that negotiations regarding Iran’s new draft proposals continue.

Iran’s position on the previous draft proposals has also faced negative reaction from Russia. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, said on Thursday, December 9, that negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA will proceed based on draft proposals prepared until June of this year.

He emphasized at the same time that according to diplomatic rules, “Iran’s new ideas should be discussed and examined appropriately.”

The American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported in its December 6 issue that the Chinese were surprised by Iran’s new nuclear proposals in the seventh round of Vienna talks and tried to make them more balanced.

Perhaps for this reason, the British newspaper The Guardian on Friday attributed the retreat of the team led by Ali Bagheri to pressure from China and Russia.

European diplomats told the Wall Street Journal that China’s senior negotiator in the JCPOA Joint Commission held three hours of bilateral talks with his Iranian counterpart after becoming aware of Iran’s proposals to make these proposals more balanced.

According to this report, China told nuclear negotiating delegations in Vienna that Beijing wants Iran’s nuclear program to be under international control.

Robert Malley, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, also told BBC on Thursday that the Iranian team’s approach “is not a starting point for any serious negotiations” and everything depends on Iran’s approach in Vienna talks.

Representatives of the Iranian government say that in addition to the two draft proposals submitted, they have also prepared three other drafts regarding verification of sanctions relief, compensation, and American guarantees for non-withdrawal from the JCPOA to present to the countries participating in the negotiations.

Source: Radio Farda