Tehran and Moscow's contradictory assessment of the Vienna nuclear talks; Shamkhani expressed disappointment
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an article that shows his disappointment with the state of the nuclear talks in Vienna that the work of the Islamic Republic's representatives in the negotiations to advance Tehran's positions is becoming more difficult "moment by moment."
In a tweet published on Sunday, Shamkhani wrote that after a telephone conversation with Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and the Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator, it had become clear to him that "the work of Iranian negotiators to advance Tehran's logical and legal instructions" was becoming increasingly difficult.
He has also accused the "Western parties" in the Vienna talks of trying to "escape" their commitments by "showing initiative."
The disappointing remarks by the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council come at a time when, on the same day, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative in the JCPOA revival talks, tweeted that assessments of the current status of the Vienna talks were "positive."
Ulyanov has also expressed optimism in the past, despite Western countries' concerns about the path of the JCPOA negotiations.
Bloomberg News reports that Ulyanov did not provide further details about his optimism on Sunday.
Germany had previously called the proposals presented by Iran in the seventh round of talks to revive the JCPOA unacceptable and announced that it expected the Iranian delegation to participate in the talks with “realistic” proposals. Iran has repeatedly emphasized receiving what it calls “guarantees” from the United States that it will not withdraw from the JCPOA again. American officials have said that they cannot provide the guarantees that Tehran seeks.
Shamkhani's statements come at a time when Western officials say the Vienna talks are in their final stages and it is time for Iran to make "political decisions."
CNN last week quoted American officials as saying that US President Joe Biden's administration believes that given the speed with which Iran's nuclear program is advancing, Washington has until the end of February to save the Iran nuclear deal, otherwise the US should change course and begin aggressive efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The US government has been conducting indirect talks with the Islamic Republic in Vienna for several months. After former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, Joe Biden said that if Iran returned to its commitments in the JCPOA, he would also bring the US back into the nuclear deal.
Source: Voice of America
