From the beginning of the nuclear talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran laid down the condition that the sanctions should be effectively and sustainably removed in a way that the accord would provide economic benefits for the people and emphasized that political claims about safeguard issues should be closed.
In this regard, in his first press conference with Iranian and foreign media since taking office, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that negotiations are for the removal of sanctions and those who abandoned their commitments should return and fulfill their commitments, adding that Iran's emphasis in these negotiations is on the lifting of sanctions.
He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes reassuring verification and trust-building guarantees in the nuclear talks and insists that safeguard issues be resolved.
Iranian President in his remarks said that this is a pillar in the talks and without it, talking of any agreement has no meaning, adding that the agreement should be accompanied by the resolution of safeguard issues and points that Iran follows as a strategy.
We have not ignored the interests of the Iranians and will not do so, he said.
Iranian President mentioned four conditions as the main components of the agreement and explained: first, reassuring guarantees; second, objective and practical verification of the lifting of the sanctions; third, the lifting of sanctions in a meaningful and sustainable manner; and fourth, closing the political claims regarding the safeguards.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced that Tehran has sent its opinion on the US’s response to an EU draft text for the possible agreement on the removal of sanctions.
After receiving the United States’ response, the Islamic Republic’s expert team examined it carefully and submitted its response to the coordinator tonight, Kanaani said.
He pointed out that Iran's response was prepared after evaluation on various levels.
Kanaani pointed out that the text that was sent by Iran has a constructive approach aimed at finalizing the talks.
*** Washington calls Iran's response "not constructive", without even reading it
Later on, the United States, in a hasty reaction, tried to throw the ball back into Iran's court and called the response provided by Iran non-constructive.
Vedant Patel, a department spokesperson, didn’t elaborate on the remarks Thursday night but added that US officials were still looking at the response, which Iran had submitted to the European Union. The EU has drafted a proposal to rescue the agreement, abandoned by President Donald Trump in 2018, and energy traders have been closely watching to see whether there will be a breakthrough, wrote The Times.
“We are studying it and will respond through the E.U., but unfortunately it is not constructive,” Patel said in a statement.
The prospect of reviving Iran's nuclear deal took a step back on Thursday as the Biden administration said Tehran's latest response was "non-constructive", The Washington Post reported.
These are happening while Iran's request for the effective removal of sanctions and the termination of safeguard claims as requirements for the formation of a reliable and stable agreement has been described as reasonable and logical by the opposite parties.
On August 22, on the sidelines of a seminar in Spain, Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called Iran's comments on the draft agreement that he prepared last month and presented to the negotiating parties as reasonable and logical.
This statement from the person who prepared the initial draft of the agreement is very important for two reasons.
First, unlike the media creations, the proposed draft still had room for improvement, and Iran's "logical" response has improved it. In other words, the ultimatum of the European powers for the unconditional acceptance of the text by Iran was an irrational and baseless action.
Second, when the drafter of the initial text calls Iran's proposed amendment "logical", no one can claim that Iran is making excuses and trying to waste time.
In other words, today we know that at least Russia, China, and the European Union officially consider Iran's reform proposals based on the lifting of sanctions and the closure of the agency's political claims as reasonable.
Therefore, the US reaction to Iran's response strengthens the proposition that reaching a final agreement is merely being delayed by America's internal problems and the decision-making weakness of the Biden administration.
On the eve of mid-term congressional elections, when the victory of the rival party (Republican) seems almost certain, the President of the United States has no desire to spend the political capital of the government and the Democratic Party on the deal.
In recent days, he has been under a lot of pressure from the Congress not to rejoin Washington in the Iran nuclear deal.
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