Status: November 12, 2021 3:09 p.m.
Negotiations on the nuclear deal with Iran are due to resume at the end of November. But they are likely to get complicated. The Iranian chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani is calling for an end to the sanctions.
Ali Bagheri Kani was on a European tour this week. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran held political talks in France, Great Britain and Germany. These are the three European contracting parties who are intensely involved in the diplomatic efforts to secure the Iran nuclear deal. It has recently become clear that the talks in Vienna should continue on November 29th after a long break.
Ali Bagheri Kani is his country’s chief negotiator. In conversation with the ARD capital studio he explains his expectations for the negotiations. One message runs through the entire interview. In Vienna it is primarily about “that the illegitimate illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were imposed by the USA, are lifted again”. From Iran’s point of view, this is how success is measured: “This is a benchmark for us.”
Can the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), be revived? The negotiations in Vienna only started again in April, but were interrupted after the presidential election and the change of government in Tehran. Iran does not see itself on the train. in the ARD interview Bagheri Kani emphasizes several times: “We have all adhered to the contents of this agreement and also fulfilled all obligations within this framework. But we then discovered that the other side had violated the agreement.”
“Dangerous Escalation”
Many governments do not share this view. At the G20 summit, Germany, France, Great Britain and the USA recently warned of a “dangerous escalation”. It is determined “to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire nuclear weapons,” it said in a joint statement.
Angela Merkel said at a meeting that Iran would return to the negotiating table. However, time is passing “and the enrichments are continuing in Iran. That worries us very much”.
The interview with Bagheri Kani in Berlin suggests that the talks in Vienna will be extremely difficult. When asked about the fear that the Iranian nuclear program could be used for weapons-grade uranium, he replied that Iran’s activities would take place “within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Security Agreement, under the constant control of the International Atomic Energy Agency”. “Those who express this criticism are definitely questioning the contract and the security agreement, that is, the authority.”
Criticism of Instex
The Iranian negotiator’s visit to Berlin falls during a transitional period in German politics. According to Bagheri Kani, the previous federal government played an “important role” in the design and then in the implementation of the nuclear agreement. After the US left, the three European countries would not have complied with their commitments either.
The Deputy Foreign Minister sharply criticized the European attempt to make economic exchange possible with the special-purpose vehicle Instex: “That did not help us.” No European bank they have been willing to make money transfers. “I think there was some kind of miscarriage, Instex died before the birth,” said Bagheri Kani in an interview with the ARD capital studio.
Expectations of the federal government
From a new federal government, Iran expects Germany to “keep its commitments and stick to it” within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement. In addition, it is also important for Iran that the Federal Republic of Germany “only thinks of its own national interests and is not influenced by the interests of a third country in exchange and interaction with the Islamic Republic”. Even if the name is not mentioned, it stands to reason that this third country refers to the USA.
Regarding the Iranian chief negotiator’s visit to Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “The point is to be able to fully restore the JCPoA as soon as possible, i.e. to achieve a complete return and full implementation of the JCPoA.” One expects a “constructive attitude” from Iran.