Iran: No Interim Nuclear Deal, Agreement Must Be Lasting

Iran FM: Verification, sanctions relief don't make sense in interim deal

Speaking about the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna, Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the notion of an interim deal being reached, saying that they are holding out for a “sustainable and reliable” deal that would last.

Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said neither verification nor sanctions relief would make much sense in the context of an interim deal, and that anything which doesn’t accomplish that is not on the agenda.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahiian says things are on the right track for a good agreement. French Foreign Minister Le Drian confirmed talks are on a “rather positive path.”

Since the talks began with the notion of returning the US to the P5+1 nuclear deal, it’s unclear why a second, interim agreement even came up. All indications are that Iran is willing to return to the deal as it was originally written, if and only if the US returns and finally delivers on promised sanctions relief.

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.