Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is still working to salvage the opportunity to revive the nuclear deal with the new Biden administration despite the domestic pressure he is under.
Iranian lawmakers are not pleased with a deal Rouhani made with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to soften the blow of Iran ending its voluntary compliance with the Additional Protocol, which allows the IAEA to conduct snap inspections.
Rouhani’s government reached a “temporary bilateral technical understanding” with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. Iran suspended the Additional Protocol on Tuesday, but Grossi is satisfied with the understanding he reached with Tehran.
Rouhani’s government was required to suspend the Additional Protocol if the US did not lift sanctions by a bill passed by Iran’s parliament in December. The bill was a plan to counter US sanctions and was passed after the assassination of Iranian Scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in an apparent Israeli plot.
On Monday, Iran’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a motion to send a report to Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on the IAEA deal. The report says the agreement Rouhani reached with the IAEA is a “clear violation” of the law passed in December.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged the split between the government and the parliament in a tweet on Monday. “Today’s dispute between parliament and government must be resolved,” he wrote. Regardless of the split, Rouhani, Khamenei, and the parliament are all willing to reverse these measures if the US lifts sanctions.
One thing that is not helping Rouhani’s diplomatic efforts is comments from US officials who are calling for a stricter nuclear deal before lifting sanctions, vindicating Iran’s hardliners.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that the US will work to “lengthen and strengthen” the JCPOA. Iran’s stance has been clear. They have no interest in negotiating a stricter agreement before the US comes into compliance with the original agreement and lifts sanctions.
Iran’s position remains correct. Clearly, the US is not sincere about rejoining the JCPOA, and thinks it can use its usual bullying tactics to get a new deal to further its interests. US must end all illegal unilateral sanctions against Iran, if it actually wants to rejoin the JCPOA. Then maybe talk about other things: How about US compensation to Iran for the damage done by the sanctions? A Nuclear Weapons Free Middle East, which Iran has supported but Israel does not? Ending US belligerence and warmongering in the Middle East, and accepting that Iran is a major regional power there, with legitimate interests?
Iran should ask one simple question. If they agree to revert back to enriching uranium at the level the agreement specifies and continue to voluntarily comply with the Additional Protocol, would the US rejoin the JCPOA without conditions? Yes or no. There is no way the US would give a definitive answer, now or ever. Then just leave the deal and place the blame squarely on the US and go make some nukes
This goes back to long before the JCPOA. For 15 years or so, the US regime would make demands, then withdraw their “offer” and add new demands to it every time the Iranian regime said “okay, let’s do this.”
The point is not and never has been to stop the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons, seeing as how the Iranians haven’t evinced any interest in doing so. The point seems to be two-fold — to continue punishing the Iranians for having the gall and temerity to overthrow the US-imposed regime of the Shah, and to keep Iranian oil off as much of the world market as possible so that oil prices stay high enough to make US shale production profitable.
Boy are you misinformed again. I was 30 year old at the time when the Shaw was overgrown. It was during the cold war, the US was trying to keep the Russians from controlling Iran’s oil
The Shaw was selling all the oil he drill, that how was able to build his big army, palaces and control Iran. From the oil sales to US and others the US froze some 50 billion $, not including European money to get the nuclear treaty signed. That was under Obama, big mistake. Eventually somebody will have to bomb Iran’s nuclear bomb making infrastructure.
Biden’s JCPOA policy is one brick of his contain-China policy which, I hold, will fail.