Iran: Deal Reached With US on Lifting Sanctions

With time running out, Iran says technical issues being wrapped up

Just days before the Iranian presidential election, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement reporting that a broad deal was reached with the US over sanctions relief in the industrial sector and energy.

The Ministry spokesman says only minute technical issues remain, and that there is nothing impossible for negotiators trying to work out the deal before the Friday election. The US has yet to confirm this deal being made, but it seems that things are being worked out quickly.

The current talks in Vienna are in their sixth round, and there has been hope recently that a deal could be in the offing, even as there was concern that the election is going to greatly complicate problems going forward.

Iran’s President Rouhani is a very pro-diplomacy reformist, and his second term in office comes to an end after this election. Expectations are that his replacement will be more conservative and less apt to trust a diplomatic process with the US.

This led Iran’s current government to warn that time is running out to make a deal to save the JCPOA, and that this is an opportunity that needs to be taken. Indications are that just that is happening, and it’s possible a deal will be announced before the vote.

If the US wants a deal to be made, this is the time to do it. Luckily, none of the other P5+1 nations are likely to resist the US finally making good on sanctions relief they promised years ago. That’s the deal that could’ve been in place long ago, and might yet be again.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.