An anonymous US official said that Washington will seek an alternate deal with Tehran rather than agree to Moscow’s demands
According to a US official, the US won’t negotiate any lifting of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia in order for Moscow to trade with Tehran as part of a new Iran nuclear agreement. The official stated that Washington will pursue an alternative agreement with Russia, despite a possible deal being close to completion.
“I don’t see the scope for going beyond what is within the confines of the JCPOA,”The official was referring to 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which provided Iran with limited sanctions relief in return for an end to Iran’s nuclear program. “I think it’s pretty safe to say that there is no room for making exemptions beyond those.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has demanded written assurances that sanctions imposed on Russia since the start of its military offensive in Ukraine won’t impact any trade between Russia and Iran under a successor deal to the JCPOA, which is currently being negotiated.
Tony Blinken the US Secretary Of State described sanctions against Ukraine in a positive light. “irrelevant”The deal of last week shows that the Iranians have sided with Russia. Saeed Khatibzadeh (Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson) stated last week, “The Iranians are siding with Russia.” “Iran’s peaceful nuclear cooperation should not be affected or restricted by any sanctions, including Iran’s peaceful nuclear cooperation with Russia.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that Russian negotiators will likely put their exact demands into writing within the next few days. “know within a week whether or not Russia is prepared to back down,”American official also added.
The US is open to negotiation if Russia does not change its demands. “replica of the JCPOA”The official stated that there was no Russian involvement and added that “we…at this point wouldn’t rule anything out.”
It is not clear, however, if the parties to the 2015 agreement would accept a new deal without Russia. Iran signed the original deal with the US and other countries, including the UK, Russia and France. According to the Wall Street Journal, European diplomats have been enquiring “options for pursuing a deal without Russia,”China is an important nuclear power, but it’s also a strong diplomatic ally to Russia. Therefore, any deal that does not include Moscow may prove difficult.
Negotiators have been attempting to hammer out a replacement for the JCPOA for nearly a year, meeting regularly in Austria’s capital Vienna for negotiations. According to the French Foreign Ministry, both sides are “in good standing”. “very close to a deal,”But he admitted that there could be disagreements between Russia’s and America’s. The anonymous US official echoed these concerns on Sunday, describing Russia’s demands as “the most serious stumbling block and obstacle to reaching a deal.”
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