"Iran" newspaper published a memo by Hamid-Reza Gholamzadeh, an expert in international affairs, on Wednesday, who wrote: "The most important difference between the seventh round of Vienna talks and the previous ones is that in the latest round Iran proposed draft texts, while in the past negotiating teams it just discussed proposals made by the Western states.
Since the side, that proposes its own text has a say during negotiations, and this side has more bargaining power to pursue its own rationale, the Iranians have the upper hand now.
The Iranian negotiating team headed by Ali Bagheri Kani submitted two draft texts to the P4+1 group of countries, including Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany, which came as the continuation of six rounds of the Joint Commission meetings of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); so, the Western parties' hue and cry against the Iranian texts could not bear any fruit for them and at the end, they accepted to continue negotiations, while observing the drafts.
Iranians proposed rational and reasonable texts, insisted on the removal of all sanctions and proved that they do not want to stop negotiations; thus, they could foil plots hatched by the Western side, who wanted to halt the Vienna talks under the pretext of having holidays amid the New Year. The West propagated that the Iranian delegation wants to halt the talks a rumor that was ruled out by Iran.
The European parties (Britain, France and Germany) wanted to buy time and put more pressure on Iran, but the Iranians insisted on the continuation of Vienna talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal and paving the way for lifting anti-Iran sanctions.
The trend of these rounds of talks has revealed that there is a war of words, meaning that those who can initiate propagating a narrative, can determine the approach of the talks.
The Iranian negotiating team, therefore, should be praised for all-out efforts to hold talks with Russia and China in order to shape a narrative in accordance with realities in the international arena.
1424
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