There was always deep concern among some segments of the Iranian society that the West would not live up to its part of the bargain in the nuclear deal with Iran. A year after the deal was signed has confirmed the skeptics’ worst fears.
1The US and its allies in the P5+1 group of countries appear to be dragging their feet in fulfilling their part of the bargain while demanding Iran comply with all its conditions in the nuclear deal. On October 21, the Rahbar, Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei sent a letter to President Hassan Rouhani pointing this out saying the Islamic Republic’s concessions on the nuclear file were conditional on the other side, especially the US, lifting all sanctions.
When the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the Islamic Re-public and the P5+1 group of countries (the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) was agreed in Vienna on July 14, Western media outlets immediately re-ported that there were “celebrations” in Tehran. The BBC as usual led the pack. Conversely, opponents of the deal were dubbed as “hardliners” whose personal in-terests would be affected if it was approved and implemented.
Whether the deal between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P5+1 group of coun-tries holds will depend largely on the conduct of the US.
Iran's Foreign Minister Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif has told his negotiating partners from the P5+1 countries to make up their minds: do they want an agreement or continue with coercion that has never yielded results. “Getting to yes requires the courage to compromise, the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable, the wisdom to set aside illusions and the audacity to break old habits," he told them.
Despite the framework agreement that outlines the guidelines, the West led by the US is introducing new demands into the negotiations such as inspection of Iran’s military sites and interview of nuclear scientists. These could derail the talks.
Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiators have made clear that there will be no discussion about visits to military sites or interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi was quoted by IRNA that this message has been communicated to the other side.
The IAEA has been forced to retract its allegation, made in March, that Iran was not being transparent with its nuclear activities. The IAEA head, Yukiya Amano appears to have a special aversion towards Iran but he had to eat crow when the IAEA April report admitted that Iran is fully compliant. Negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 group of countries are meeting in Vienna to finalize the deal by June 30.
After three days of talks in Vienna, no significant progress seems to have been made between Islamic Iran and the P5+1 group of countries. As the deadline of November 24 approaches, all sides are making efforts but the major stumbling block is US refusal, under Zionist pressure, to lift the illegal sanctions it has imposed on Iran. Tehran wants them lifted immediately while the US wants gradual lifting.
Demands of the P5+1, led by the US of the Islamic Republic in the nuclear talks are so outlandish that they may derail the entire process.
After three rounds of intense negotiations in Geneva, Iran and the P5+1 countries signed an interim deal in the early hours of November 24 relating to Iran’s nuclear program. The deal to last for six months calls for Iran to limit its nuclear activity in return for some relief from sanctions.
Representatives from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P5+1 group of countries are to resume discussions in Geneva on November 7. The follow up meeting within three weeks of the first round is seen as a good sign.
Is this the beginning of the west coming to grips with reality?
Despite decades of sanctions, internal sabotage and external invasion, the Islamic Republic continues to take major strides in most fields because of the sincerity of its leadership and support of its masses.
Four days after Iran sent a 21-page response to the Security Council about its nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad inaugurated a heavy-water plant at Arak on August 26. The following day, Dr Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted by the Islamic Students News Agency (ISNA) as saying that Iran would not abandon its right to enrich uranium as article 4 of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) allows it to do so.
