The failure of efforts to restore the 2015 deal, which would curtail Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions on Iran’s economy, risks sparking political tensions in the Middle East and further rising world oil prices. say analysts. “I can not be sure it’s coming … A few months ago we thought we were close enough,” Malley told the Doha Forum International Conference. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “In any negotiation, when there are issues that remain open for so long, it tells you something about how difficult it is to bridge the gap.” His assessment of the Vienna talks came after Kamal Kharrazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said an agreement could be reached soon. “Yes, it’s imminent. It depends on the political will of the United States,” Harazi told the conference. LAST MINUTE REQUIREMENTS The then President of the United States Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear pact in 2018, pushing Tehran to start breaking the nuclear borders set under the agreement. Months of ongoing talks on reviving the deal were delayed earlier this month, as Russia sought assurances that it would be able to carry out its work as a party to the deal. But there are still issues. Harazi said that in order for the agreement to be revived, Washington must remove the designation of a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC). The IRGC, created by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is more than just a military force and has enormous political influence. It was sanctioned in 2017 and placed on the FTO list in April 2019. The flags of Iran and the USA are printed on paper in this image taken on January 27, 2022. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration “The IRGC is a national army and a national army on the terrorist group list is certainly not acceptable,” Kharrazi said. Maley said that no matter what happens, many sanctions against the IRGC will remain. Iran REQUIRES GUARANTEE Tehran is also pushing for guarantees that any future US president will not pull out of the deal, and the extent to which sanctions will be overturned is another unresolved issue. The United States’s Gulf allies and Israel still believe that Tehran is a security threat and have deep doubts about the talks. Israel and the United States will continue to work together to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, the Israeli foreign minister said on Sunday. “We have disagreements over a nuclear deal and its consequences, but an open and honest dialogue is part of the strength of our friendship,” Jair Lapid said in a joint news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Anthony Blink. Blinken said a return to the 2015 agreement was the best way to curb Iran’s nuclear program. But whether that happens or not, “our commitment to the basic principle of Iran never acquiring a nuclear weapon is unshakable,” he said. The issue is likely to dominate the two-day summit in Israel, which will be attended by foreign ministers from three Arab states. In Tehran, EU envoy Enrique Mora, who is co-ordinating the talks, met with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani on Sunday to discuss outstanding issues in the nuclear talks. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Ghaida Ghantous and Andrew Mills in Doha. Additional references by Humeyra Pamuk and Dan Williams in Jerusalem: Written by Nadine Awadalla and Michael Georgy. Editing by Elaine Hardcastle Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
