The Iranian precedent diplomat described Iran's legal logic in the negotiations as a failure for the Americans that reinforces the US decline theory.
Alireza Sheikh Attar stated that this round of talks is different from the previous rounds and this issue has surprised and dissatisfied the western parties; “This round is different in two terms; primarily and unlike before, the composition of the Iranian delegation includes economic and decision-making figures.
He mentioned that previously, there was a low level of coordination between the economic institutions and the negotiating team, while in the new round, experts are raising technical issues.
Sheikh Attar emphasized that in the past, the negotiating team of Rouhani's government was passive and waited for the western side to present a document and then our country's team to comment on it, but this time the opposite happened and Iran proposed the document.
The former deputy foreign minister described the first document as a discussion of sanctions and the second as a nuclear issue that surprised the West; “Therefore, the first reaction of the western side is to say that the negotiations have previously progressed to some extent and today the Iranian delegation doesn’t accept the former negotiations and raises a new issue.”
Sheikh Attar stressed that the Europeans' claim is not true; “In the two documents we presented, we talked about logical and consistent cases in Iran's interests, but we also raised pragmatic arguments that also reflected Iran's interests.”
“One of them concerns nuclear issues, and the other is the priorities that are necessary for the lift of sanctions. It has also been declared that Iran will exercise its rights under the NPT, and although we implemented the safeguard voluntarily, we haven’t passed it in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. However, according to the international praxis, the parliaments of the countries should approve it,” he added.
Sheikh Attar continued; “The United States is stuck in internal divisions that include Trump supporters, Democrats, Republicans, etc. Biden's age and physical disabilities are also criticized”
On the other hand, there are serious differences between France and Britain, and obviously the Europeans felt that they didn’t have enough authority in this atmosphere, and therefore, they asked to return to their capitals.”
Sheikh Attar stated that all the documents provided by Iran were based on international law and the NPT; “The Europeans also voted for the illegality of the US action, but the West and the United States certainly do not want to accept the logic of Iran since it’s not to their benefit.”
By Azadeh Khajeh Nasiri
