The EU announced on Monday that it had submitted a “final” text after four days of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials in Vienna. read more A senior EU official said no further changes could be made to the text, which has been under negotiation for 15 months. He said he expected a final decision from the parties within “a very, very few weeks.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register IRNA cited the unidentified Iranian diplomat as saying that Tehran is reviewing the proposal. “The EU’s proposals can be accepted if they provide Iran with assurances on the issues of safeguards, sanctions and guarantees,” the diplomat said. The Islamic Republic sought assurances that no future US president would withdraw from the deal if it was revived, as then-President Donald Trump did in 2018 and reinstated tough US sanctions on Iran. However, President Joe Biden cannot provide such ironclad assurances because the agreement is a political understanding, not a legally binding treaty. A Shiite Muslim cleric, in a Friday prayer sermon that usually echoes the state line, said Tehran insisted on receiving verifiable guarantees that US sanctions would be lifted as part of a renewed deal, according to Iran’s state television. “We insist on getting the necessary guarantees, the lifting of sanctions and verification, and if this is achieved, then our negotiating team will tell the people that the sanctions have been lifted thanks to your resistance and strength,” Kazem Seddiqi said in the prayer of Friday. the capital Tehran, according to state television. Washington has said it is ready to quickly reach an agreement to restore the deal based on the EU’s proposals. Iranian officials said they would convey their “additional views and assessments” to the EU, which is coordinating the talks, after consultations in Tehran. The 2015 pact seemed almost a revival in March. But 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and the Biden administration in Vienna have fallen into disarray largely over Iran’s insistence that Washington remove the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US Foreign Terrorist Organizations list. On Wednesday, the United States accused a member of the Revolutionary Guards of plotting to assassinate John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, although Washington said it did not believe the charges should affect nuclear talks with Tehran. read more Under the 2015 deal, Iran curbed its disputed uranium enrichment program, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, in exchange for relief from US, EU and UN sanctions. Tehran says it wants nuclear power only for peaceful purposes. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Edited by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
