Hopes of a speedy return to the nuclear deal with Iran have been dashed. France, Britain and Germany (E3) released a joint statement on Saturday, blaming Iran for not taking the “crucial diplomatic opportunity” offered by a compromise negotiated by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Instead, Iran has made new demands that raise “serious doubts about Iran’s intentions and commitment to a successful outcome” in efforts to return to the nuclear deal.
Borrell presented a proposal at the beginning of August after more than a year and a half of negotiations. In an initial response, Iran had shown itself ready to respond, but called for certain changes. Like the E3 and the USA, Borrell rated this initial response as constructive. President Joe Biden’s administration indicated that it was willing to accept changes, but made it conditional on a different sequence of steps, with the agreement intended to be implemented again by both sides in a process that took months.
Iran then made demands that the E3 and Washington consider unrelated to the nuclear deal and that Tehran had previously withdrawn. Specifically, Tehran is demanding that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) close an investigation into three facilities in Iran before the Iranian parliament decides on the return to the nuclear deal. This leaves the IAEA only a few months to complete the investigation, in which Iran has refused the inspectors any cooperation for months.
It is about three plants that Iran has never declared as part of its nuclear program. Inspectors found traces of uranium there. This raises the suspicion that Iran has maintained a more extensive secret military nuclear program than previously known. Iran has not yet provided any plausible explanation for the existence of the uranium at the sites and is preventing the inspectors from further investigation.
The Western states have made it clear that the investigation can only be closed if IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi has received what he considers to be satisfactory answers and Iran has cleared the suspicion. The Islamic Republic is obliged to do this under its security agreement with the IAEA, which it concluded independently of the nuclear agreement with the IAEA.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman calls statement “unbalanced”
Iran is likely to face sharp criticism again at the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, which begins this Monday. Most recently, only Russia and China voted against a resolution by the committee calling on Iran to cooperate. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani criticized the E3 statement as “unbalanced and unconstructive”.
In its latest report, the IAEA stated that Iran is rapidly expanding its nuclear program and has now produced more than 60 percent enriched uranium than would theoretically be necessary for the construction of a nuclear bomb. Western intelligence services assume that the Iranian technicians would need another six to twelve months to produce a nuclear explosive device from it. As the program progresses, the remaining benefits of the nuclear deal diminish.
A conclusion before the midterm elections for the US Congress in early November is now considered unlikely, and whether the agreement can be saved at all is doubtful. US President Biden last week urged his administration to ensure the US has “other options” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.