Amid the negotiations in Vienna, Austria, to lift anti-Iran sanctions, the US voiced readiness to hold direct talks with the Islamic Republic's representatives, a move to derail the negotiations.
Ned Price, Spokesperson for the US Department of State, said on Monday, “We have consistently held the position that it would be much more productive to engage with Iran directly on both negotiations and on other issues.”
Another American official told international media outlets on condition of anonymity that the US's representatives are ready to meet with Iranians in order to accomplish the Vienna talks, which have been represented by European partners so far.
However, the Iranian negotiating team has succeeded in negating the propaganda campaign by the West especially the US. The Western powers have played different cards to put pressure on the Islamic Republic, including setting unfounded deadlines or proposing an interim deal, but such attempts bore no fruit for them and Iran insisted on its principles regarding removal of sanctions and demand for assurances on future compliance to the pact.
The vast majority of the negotiating teams in the Vienna talks have acknowledged that the United States' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018 and re-imposition of anti-Iran sanctions have been unlawful, unilateral and oppressive, which led to the current situation of implementing the international accord.
Following the Western powers' failure to push Iran towards succumbing to their demands, they have resorted to a so-called interim deal as a psychological warfare, which was ruled out by the Islamic Republic strongly.
The Wall Street Journal reported that "differences have emerged in the US negotiating team over how tough to be with Tehran and when to walk away, according to people familiar with the negotiations. US officials confirmed over the weekend that Richard Nephew, the deputy special envoy for Iran, has left the team. Mr. Nephew, an architect of previous economic sanctions on Iran, had advocated a tougher posture in the current negotiations, and he hasn’t attended the talks in Vienna since early December. Two other members of the team, which is led by State Department veteran Robert Malley, have stepped back from the talks, the people familiar said, because they also wanted a harder negotiating stance."
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that all negotiating teams have accepted that they should prevent from reoccurrence of what happened in recent years following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Iran seeks a reliable and lasting agreement, which needs assurances by other sides to live up to their commitments under the JCPOA.
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