New sanctions on Iranian figures and institutions amid the new round of nuclear negotiation escalated verbal tensions. Iran says the sanctions indicates Washington’s dishonest approach and leaves it with no leverage in the coming talks.
Following the US announcement about further sanctions on Iranian organizations and individuals, Tehran and the Washington entered e new series of verbal disputes. Iranian officials stressed that the restrictions may not work as a “leverage” in the coming rounds of nuclear negotiations.
The US treasury issued the announcement regarding the new sanctions yesterday. Several security figures along with the special units in Iranian Law Enforcement Forces are in the new sanctions lists. Along with Iran, Syria and Uganda have figures and institutions in the new US sanction list.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson blasted the US for the new move. Khatibzadeh referred to meaning of the policy while the two nations are in indirect negotiations to recover the nuclear agreement. “Washington fails to understand that ‘maximum failure’ & a diplomatic breakthrough are mutually exclusive. Doubling down on sanctions won’t create leverage—and is anything but seriousness & goodwill,” he posted on twitter.
Khatibzadeh’s remarks appeared to echo earlier US authorities’ warnings to Tehran that expanding its nuclear ambitions would hurt its bargaining position. “They believe that they could accumulate more enriched uranium at higher levels and use more advanced centrifuges as leverage for a deal that they think they could extract more from us and give less their part,” an anonymous high-rank American authority said referring to Iran’s fast-advancing nuclear program.
The first round of indirect negotiations under new Iranian team ended on Friday. Washington charged Tehran with lacking seriousness about restoring the accord. Iran, on the other hand, said its proposal contained all it must have had and the Western powers must be realistic.
New Sanctions Amid New Talks
Iranian delegates provided two proposals to restore the nuclear agreement. the proposals contained provision about Iran’s curtail on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanction and secure guarantees for it.
After former American government pulled out of the accord, Washington has imposed sanctions on Iranian businesses, administrative organizations, and individuals. As a result, Iran launched uranium enrichment above limitations specified by the agreement. This is while Tehran simultaneously blocked parts of the inspection access to its nuclear sites for foreign auditors.
Tehran believes that Washington must lift the entire system of sanctions as a preliminary step. Tehran emphasizes that is still a signatory to the deal, unlike Washington whose withdrawal kicked off the violation process.
American authorities, on the other hand, have expressed skepticism on Tehran’s desire to resurrect the Agreement. “What we’ve seen in the last couple of days is that Iran right now does not seem to be serious about doing what’s necessary to return to compliance, which is why we ended this round of talks in Vienna,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Reuters in previous days.
The sixth round of negotiations in Vienna were actually the first since the takeover of power by the new conservative president in Iran. the talks were on hold for about four months by Iran following the election.
The seventh round of talks will resume on Thursday while Washington accuses Iran with lack of seriousness. At the same time, Washington’s new sanctions on Iranian figures and institution put its seriousness in the talks at stake.
The main challenge en route is Iran’s call for guarantees about US commitment in the coming years. Tehran’s request is due to Washington’s bad history in breaching the deal, as it did with JCPOA in 2018.
