Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) France stressed the importance of wrapping up Iran nuclear talks this week, while Iran called on the US to make concessions.
One Iranian diplomat noted that the time to reach an agreement was “now or never” and stressed that negotiations could succeed if the US gave in to Iran’s demands, according to Reuters reporting on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the main unresolved issues include guarantees that the US will not withdraw from the pact again and the extent of sanctions lifting.
While all sides involved in the talks say they have made progress towards reviving the nuclear deal, the US and Iran note that some significant issues remain unresolved.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh noted that “reaching a good deal is possible” if Western countries take “political decisions” on Iran’s demands.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri attended a meeting on Monday with Enrique Mora, Chief of Staff of Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
According to two sources close to the talks, Iran presented new demands and did not drop any previous demands. Among the new demands is that the US drops the terrorist organisation designation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran’s hard stance
One of the sources stressed that Iran’s stance “has become even more uncompromising” and pointed out “they now insist on the removal of sanctions on the IRGC and want to open issues that had already been agreed.”
The IRGC controls a business empire as well as intelligence services and armed forces in Iran and was designated as a terrorist organisation by the US in 2019.
Iran also wants the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to withdraw its warnings about Iran’s nuclear activities. The organisation noted last year that Tehran failed to explain traces of uranium at undeclared nuclear sites.
An Iranian diplomat in Tehran commented on the talks, stressing that “it is now or never… if they cannot reach a deal this week, the talks will collapse forever.”
The US Department of State pointed out that it is prepared to abandon negotiations if “Iran displays intransigence to making progress.”
