Israel calls for immediate halt to nuclear talks with Iran
The Israeli prime minister accused the Islamic Republic of “nuclear blackmail” and called for an immediate halt to talks with Iran in Vienna. The Israeli foreign minister recently said that a “credible military threat” is the only way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Referring to reports of Iran's use of advanced centrifuges at the underground Fordow facility, Naftali Bennett accused the Islamic Republic of engaging in "nuclear blackmail" through negotiation tactics and called for an immediate halt to the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna.
Reuters reported on Thursday, December 2, citing the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, that Bennett, in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, called for an immediate halt to the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna and stressed that world powers should confront Iran by imposing stricter measures instead of talks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency announced in its latest report on Wednesday that Iran has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent at the Fordow facility, near the city of Qom, by launching a cascade of 166 advanced IR6 centrifuges.
According to the nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and six world powers and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is not allowed to use advanced centrifuges and must not enrich uranium beyond 3.76 percent.
A year after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions, Iran gradually reduced its implementation of its commitments under the JCPOA, and this trend has continued to this day.
Negotiations to revive the JCPOA began in mid-April this year and had been held for six rounds by the end of June. The ultimate goal of these negotiations is for the US to return to the nuclear agreement and for the Islamic Republic to resume implementation of its JCPOA commitments.
On Monday, after a break of about six months, a new round of negotiations by the Joint Commission on the JCPOA began in Vienna, with the presence of the new negotiating team of Ebrahim Raisi's government and representatives of the five remaining countries in the agreement.
Enrique Moura, the EU's deputy foreign policy chief, is coordinating these negotiations, and the United States is participating indirectly.
Israel's emphasis on military threats instead of negotiations
As the Vienna talks began, Israeli Foreign Minister Pare Lapid held talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron on the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities during a three-day trip to London and Paris.
According to the Times of Israel newspaper, in a conversation with Macron, Lapid opposed the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic and emphasized that only through a "credible military solution" can Iran's nuclear programs be stopped.
The ultimate goal of the Vienna talks, from Iran's perspective, is the lifting of all US sanctions, while the United States says that the lifting of some sanctions requires Tehran to return to implementing its JCPOA obligations.
On Monday morning, on the eve of the start of a new round of talks in Vienna, the Israeli Prime Minister called on world powers in a video message not to "give in to Iran's blackmail."
Bennett warned that the Islamic Republic, which wants sanctions lifted, will offer nothing in return, and that lifting sanctions would mean hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into Iran's nuclear programs.
In continuation of Israel's efforts to counter the revival of the JCPOA, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is scheduled to travel to Washington next week and, in a conversation with his American counterpart and the US Secretary of State, explain the reasons for the country's opposition to the Iran deal.
Presentation of two proposed texts by Iran
Meanwhile, Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs and Head of the Islamic Republic's negotiating team, announced on Thursday that Iran had submitted two proposed texts to the opposing parties last night regarding the issues under negotiation in recent days.
According to ISNA news agency, Bagheri Kani said about the two documents: "The first document is about lifting sanctions and the other is about Iran's nuclear activities. The other side must examine these and be prepared to enter into serious negotiations about these texts."
After preliminary negotiations, two working groups began examining the issue of sanctions and the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
No report has been published yet on the possible outcome of these reviews and the content of Iran's proposed texts. According to Bagheri Kani, "the status of the review of these documents and the timetable for their consideration" will be determined today.
The deputy foreign minister for politics of the Islamic Republic says that if the opposing sides conduct their own investigations and are willing, Iranian negotiators are still in Vienna and are ready "to continue and continue the talks in this round."
Source: DW
