Over the past two days, direct and indirect quotes have been made by European diplomats present at the Vienna talks on the completion of work on the draft agreement or the announcement of the final agreement this week, which is merely speculative.
On Thursday, Reuters claimed that it has gained access to a 20-page draft agreement allegedly clinched by the participants in the Vienna talks, which stipulates a sequence of steps to be implemented once it has been approved by the remaining parties to the deal. It added that the agreement starts with a phase, including Iran suspending enrichment above 5% purity and other measures such as unfreezing of about $7 billion in Iranian funds stuck in South Korean banks under US sanctions. Reuters further claimed that the draft also includes the release of a number of Iranian nationals, who also hold American and European citizenships and have been sentenced to jail terms on grounds of taking measures against the country’s national security.
The Reuters report also alleged that the draft has also noted that the removal of some particularly sensitive sanctions could also require Iranian and US officials to meet directly, which has so far been categorically rejected by Iranian officials.
Iran has rejected a report by Reuters news agency about a deal having been drafted in the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 Iran deal, saying that it is only meant to boost the position of the Western parties to the talks and has nothing to do with what is happening on the ground in the Austrian capital.
There are still important issues on which no agreement has been reached and talks are ongoing to bring the views of the two sides closer together.
The remaining issues in the negotiations are the issues that Iran is emphasizing and the talks will continue until they are agreed upon. The remaining issues are largely a matter for the West to make a political decision.
The delay in making a political decision by the Western side has left the fate of reaching a final agreement in a state of ambiguity, according to Nournews.
It seems that some unsubstantiated statements, as well as media propaganda by the Western parties, are more of a post-negotiation behavior to influence Iranian negotiators to accept the irrational views of the Western parties.
The tough negotiations that took place on Thursday and Friday and will continue until the fulfillment of Iran's legal demands reflect the fact that from Iran's point of view, no issue has been agreed on until all issues have been agreed.
The eighth round of talks on the removal of all anti-Iranian sanctions kicked off on Dec. 27 in the Austrian capital of Vienna and is one of lengthy rounds of talks. These days, participants are busy actively drafting the text of the agreement and deciding on some controversial issues.
The removal of sanctions and the issue of verification and guarantees that the other parties will abide by their obligations this time and the US will not reimpose the sanctions are among the most important and sensitive issues discussed between the parties in recent weeks.
ZZ/