Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any European move to issue a resolution against Tehran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would threaten diplomatic efforts.
Al Jazeera reported that Araghchi confirmed that Iran's condition for retracting its steps to reduce its commitments under the nuclear deal is the lifting of sanctions. Meanwhile, the Austrian Deputy Minister for European and International Affairs noted his country’s stance to support the nuclear agreement and expressed welcome for the agreement reached between Iran and the IAEA during Grossi's recent visit to Tehran. During his virtual discussions with Araghchi today, Lavonski stated that "Austria is fully prepared to enhance the role of diplomacy in this regard."
This took place during the fourth round of political consultations between Tehran and Vienna, which were held virtually on Monday with the participation of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Austrian Deputy Minister for European and International Affairs Peter Lavonski. Both sides noted in this meeting the historical relations based on friendship between Iran and Austria and extensively discussed other developments related to the nuclear agreement.
In this context, Al Jazeera obtained a draft resolution for the IAEA that underscores the importance of the agency’s role in verifying Iran's commitments. The draft resolution expressed concern over Iran's decision to halt work on the Additional Protocol and emphasized the necessity for Iran to fully cooperate regarding the implementation of the Safeguards Agreement and to meet the agency's demands concerning the Safeguards Agreement without any delay. The resolution highlighted that without the application of the Additional Protocol, it would not be possible to verify the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.
The draft resolution also voiced concern over Iran's decision to prevent agency inspectors from verifying compliance with the nuclear agreement, calling for Iran to immediately implement the provisions of the Additional Protocol.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran rejected a European offer for talks regarding the nuclear agreement with Washington. According to Western diplomats cited by the Journal, Iran is demanding guarantees that Washington would lift some sanctions following the nuclear agreement talks. The report confirmed that Iran's rejection did not extinguish hopes for direct negotiations in the coming months.
Earlier, Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran is considering a European proposal for an informal meeting between the current members of the 2015 nuclear deal and the United States, but has not yet responded. There is a dispute between Iran and the U.S. regarding who should take the first step to revive the 2015 agreement. Iran insists that the U.S. must first lift the sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump, while Washington argues that Tehran must first return fully to compliance with the agreement.
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested a way to overcome the deadlock between the U.S. and Iran on who should start returning to the nuclear deal first, stating that EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell could "coordinate" the steps.
