Aslani stated that Vienna talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is to be held between Iran and other parties are expected to have certain difficulties; “This round of talks is more difficult than those which ...
Radio Goftogoo had a phone call interview with Dr. Abbas Aslani, an Iranian expert on international affairs, regarding the strategies and requirements of the new round of nuclear talks.
Abbas Aslani pointed out the visit of the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri, to European countries; “These visits are aimed at achieving a clear framework which serve as a basis for future negotiations.”
Regarding the JCPOA negotiating parties, he said; “The Western parties are trying to define the time when the United States announced its intention to return to the JCPOA as the onset of the developments. This is while the United States violated the nuclear deal, and unilaterally stepped out of it imposing sanctions on Iran.”
Over this interview with Radio Goftogoo, the international affairs expert stressed that Iran basically sees the talks as focused on lifting sanctions; “Speaking of return to obligations, the party that first violated the deal is the one that should return to it.”
With reference to the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister’s visits to Russia and China and his talks with Europeans, Aslani mentioned; “Through these visits, Iran is trying to reach a common mentality, so are our actions in the international arena. The use of dialogue and the capacity for bilateral negotiations is a solution to reach common conclusions on the JCPOA, since each country has its own perspective in this field, and dialogue can certainly be useful.”
Aslani also referred to the talks which is to be held between Iran and Western countries in Vienna at the beginning of December, and stated; “These talks are just the beginning of the story and we shouldn’t expect a surprising result or event.”
He noted that Vienna talks between Iran and other parties on the JCPOA are expected to be particularly difficult; “This round of negotiations is more difficult than those which resulted in the JCPOA since after the nuclear deal was concluded, the United States and Europe promised to lift sanctions. But this commitment remained only on paper, and in practice we saw that lots of sanctions remained as before.”
Aslani continued; “This increased the delicacy of the issue and that is why Iran insists that the Americans must guarantee that the lifting of sanctions will be effective, and also that they should not repeat their past behavior, including withdrawing from the agreement.”
The international affairs expert emphasized that the statements made by the members of the Senate, especially the Republicans, beside their increasing chances of gaining power, make it logical for Iran to ask for a guarantee that the United States will not withdraw from a possible agreement in the future. In fact, Iran's demands are not just a political stance.
By Zahra Judaki
