JCPOA back on track?

Saeed Azimi Staff writer

“All outstanding differences between Iran and the other parties (regarding the JCPOA revival) are resolved. The only remaining issue is the IAEA Safeguards probe, and with the visit of the IAEA delegation, we hope this issue would soon be resolved.”

The words of Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of Iran’s Council on Foreign Relations and adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, shocked the journalists present at the third edition of Tehran Dialogue Forum (TDF), which was held on Monday at the Institute for Political and International Studies of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Adil Abdulmahdi, ex-Iraqi premier, Denis Moncada, Nicaraguan foreign minister, and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, along with Kharrazi were the guest speakers of TDF 2022, which bore the slogan of “Iran’s Neighborliness Policy, Approach to Friendship and Building Trust.”

Kharrazi’s surprising comments immediately brought to attention the words of the Iranian foreign minister in TDF 2022, where he described the talks between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation with officials from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) as “constructive and forward-looking.”

A delegation from the IAEA, led by Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo, arrived in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the UN nuclear watchdog’s queries on the three allegedly undeclared sites, in which traces of nuclear particles were found.

Previously, spokesman for the AEOI, Behrouz Kamalvandi had said that there is “realistic hope” that issues over the IAEA Safeguards probe would be resolved quickly.

The delegation left Tehran on Monday without making any public statements after meeting AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami, Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs Reza Najafi, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disarmament director.

On the sidelines of the Tehran Dialogue Forum, Iran’s chief diplomat held a brief press conference and responded to three questions. Since Amir-Abdollahian was set to depart for Amman, Jordan to participate in the Baghdad II Conference, the questions were mainly set around this conference and its margins.

Speculations about the presence of the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, in the event prompted me to ask the foreign minister about a possible bilateral meeting between the two top diplomats. His response, though not a clear yes or no, indicated that there would be such meetings.

“Mr. Borrell and Mr. [Enrique] Mora will be in Jordan concurrent with our arrival. Contacts and conversations of my colleague, Mr. Bagheri, with Mora, and my contacts with Borrell are seriously ongoing. Jordan is a good opportunity to complete the talks,” he told me.

The way it sounds, Iran is not planning to leave the negotiation table and still believes that it is diplomacy that will prevail. Nonetheless, it is the U.S. and its three European allies (France, UK, and Germany) who need to up the ante and make things right.

If and when the U.S. is ready to give up on its hypocritical policies regarding Iran, and focus on reviving the nuclear deal, only then can Iran welcome the return of all parties to their obligations under the JCPOA.

“On the one hand, the U.S. speaks of nuclear talks and reaching the final steps of an agreement, and, on the other hand, it supports creating insecurity and destabilizing Iran. This hypocritical policy must end, and only if this happens and the United States realistically and in a practical manner seeks to reach an agreement and return to its commitments in the JCPOA, would the Islamic Republic of Iran be ready to follow the final steps of the agreement to have the sanctions lifted and welcome the return of all parties to their commitments,” Iran’s top diplomat said.