Reuters: Iran Shows Encouraging Signs for Nuclear Negotiations
Reuters news agency, citing two European sources, has reported observations of positive signs from Iran for participating in informal talks with world powers, including the United States, regarding this country’s nuclear program.
Following reports of the withdrawal of America’s European allies from submitting a draft censure resolution against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reuters quoted two European sources as saying that in recent days Iran has sent “encouraging signs” regarding informal nuclear talks with the United States and Europe.
Iran has so far refrained from participating in a European Union mediation meeting between world powers and the United States to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.
A French source said: “Everything is moving in the right direction and we have received positive signs in this week and especially in the past few days.”
This source added that the goal was for everyone to sit around the table for talks before Nowruz (March 20).
He noted that the start of these talks would be difficult with the beginning of election competition in Iran, and for this reason they would spare no effort to hold this meeting in the coming days or weeks.
Another European source also stated that “positive signs” have been observed from Iran.
Diplomats have said that what is hindering negotiations is Iran’s insistence on preconditions for participating in these talks to ensure that after the meeting there is a way to lift sanctions; a precondition that the United States is not willing to accept.
A senior American official who declined to be named told Reuters that the issue is not about providing assurances on a matter, but rather about both sides taking positive steps.
He said: “When we don’t know what they are doing, we cannot tell them in advance what we will do.”
Reuters writes that an Iranian official has refrained from commenting on this matter.
The French source said that Iran’s domestic politics creates conditions where the government does not want to sit around a table with Americans after years without being certain that this meeting will lead to a positive process for lifting sanctions. Iran’s nuclear policy is determined by Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, not the country’s president.
Britain, France, and Germany have announced that they have abandoned pursuing a resolution against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency so as not to damage the prospect of diplomacy.
Said Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, on Thursday, Esfand 14, in response to this news, said that this incident could pave the way for the full implementation of commitments by all parties to the JCPOA.
He considered the cancellation of the draft resolution to be the result of intensive diplomatic efforts in Tehran, Vienna, and “the capitals of all members of the Board of Governors and especially the three European countries, as well as with the cooperation of China and Russia,” and said that “today’s development can preserve the path of diplomacy that Iran and the Agency have opened.”
Source: DW
