Indirect talks will resume in Vienna next week to continue the process of identifying the steps the United States and Iran must take to return to compliance with the agreement, which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018.
He reiterated that the United States is ready to lift sanctions “incompatible” with the 2015 agreement and the benefits Iran expects from the agreement if Iran returns to compliance – a position it has acknowledged will face strong opposition. from the Congress.
“We know how strong the opposition will be – some people who opposed the JCPOA in 2015 and 16 and who were in favor of withdrawing and who are now against any effort to return,” the official said. , using the acronym for the transaction officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan.
However, they stressed that this was “only the first step in this first phase of a potential return to” the nuclear deal and argued that leaving the deal did not make America safer.
In indirect discussions this week, the official said that US and Iranian delegations did not interact directly, but exchanged views through officials from global powers who are still parties to the agreement. Their discussions focused on defining a “common set of steps” that Iran and the United States could take, and “if and when” they will come to a common understanding of these steps, and will likely discuss sequencing.
“The United States team presented very serious, very serious ideas, demonstrated the seriousness of the goal of returning to compliance if Iran returns in compliance,” they said on Friday. “Overall, the discussions were productive, they were business, the atmosphere was very constructive.”
“At the same time, one question remains whether the seriousness of the goal and the intention to return to conformity that the US has shown will be reciprocated by Iran,” they continued. “I’d say, you know, I’ve seen a few signs of it, but they’re definitely not enough.”
Iranian officials have argued that the United States must lift all sanctions from the Trump era and return to the nuclear deal before it can return to compliance.
The senior State Department official said that such public opinions question whether Tehran really intends to return to the terms of the agreement – conditions it has increasingly violated.
“The question mark relates to … Iran’s repeated statements that all sanctions imposed since 2017 must be lifted and this is not in line with the agreement itself, as the US reserves the right to impose sanctions on grounds under the agreement. non-nuclear, whether it is terrorism or human rights violations or interfering with our choices, etc. “
“We have made it clear, I have made it clear to the Iranians indirectly, that our view is that all sanctions that are incompatible with the JCPOA and incompatible with the benefit that Iran expects from the JCPOA, we are prepared to lift if Iran returns in accordance. with his obligations, “the official said.
However, the official also accused the Trump administration of “doing everything possible to make it difficult for a successor administration to enter the JCPOA,” noting that they imposed sanctions by imposing new terrorist sanctions on entities that had already been sanctioned for nuclear reasons. . Consequently, it is a “complicated process” to determine what sanctions to lift, the official explained.
“Infinitely easier if we had direct conversations”
The official mentioned that “it would be infinitely easier if we had direct conversations with Iran”, but added that “if they do not want to meet with us, it is a pity … It will be much harder for them to get what they say they that they want, that is a return, a mutual return, to conformity. “
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Friday that no direct talks are needed until the United States joins the 2015 agreement.
A senior State Department official said Saturday was “nuclear day” in Iran, which is traditionally “the day Iran made nuclear announcements.”
“Depending on the announcements, it could also be a sign if they approach these discussions in a constructive spirit and take into account that the US has shown a real seriousness of purpose or if they will consider a different path that would raise more questions about their intention, “the official said.” So I think we’ll have to see what happens, what happens tomorrow to get another clue – it probably won’t be a definitive answer – but a clue. in Iran’s thinking. “
The official also noted that the US delegation in Vienna addressed the issue of Americans detained and missing in Iran.
“And we have raised it as strongly as ever to make sure that Iran understands that … it is a priority,” they said. “It is separate from nuclear talks, but it is something we will not forget and will continue to create with Iran.”
Iran is currently detaining US citizens Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Sharghi and has not realized the fate of Robert Levinson.