Tag: Iran

Iran Nuclear Deal’s Final Hurdle Is Lifting Terrorism Sanctions On Revolutionary Guards

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The Wall Street Journal:

The effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal agreement now hinges on perhaps the most politically sensitive issue in the negotiations: whether to remove the U.S. terrorism designation for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, the country’s powerful security force, diplomats said.

The issue is galvanizing opposition to the nuclear deal in Washington and among Middle East allies such as Israel, where the government issued stinging public criticism of any attempt to remove the terrorism designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Senior U.S. officials say a failure to find a compromise with Iran on the issue quickly could cause a breakdown in negotiations that—over almost a year—have resolved nearly every other disagreement.

See also:
–US Prepares To Sign Major Appeasement Deal With Iran
–Iran Escalates Shadow War With U.S., Israel In Latest Missile Attack

Israel Urges U.S. Not To Drop Terror Designation For Iran’s IRGC

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Reuters:

Israel on Friday urged the United States not to remove Iran’s Revolutionary Guards from its foreign terrorist organization blacklist in exchange for “empty promises”.

The United States was considering such a move, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in return for Iranian assurances about reining in the elite force and comes amid efforts to revive a 2015 deal under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for relief from sanctions.

Israel’s prime minister and foreign minister said in a joint statement they “believe that the United States will not abandon its closest allies in exchange for empty promises from terrorists”.

“The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of people, including Americans. We refuse to believe that the United States would remove its designation as a terrorist organization,” they said.

The IRGC is a powerful faction in Iran that controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces that Washington accuses of carrying out a global terrorist campaign.

Multiple sources have said dropping the terrorist designation is one of the last, and most vexing, issues in wider indirect talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

US, Iran ‘Close To Deal’ On Reviving Nuclear Pact: State Dept

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Al-Monitor:

“We are close to a possible deal, but we’re not there yet,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. “We do think the remaining issues can be bridged.”

Speaking to reporters, Price declined to confirm Tehran’s claim that there were just two final issues to be sorted out before agreeing to restore the six-party Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which aimed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

The outstanding issues, according to sources close to the talks, are Iran’s demands for “economic guarantees” in case a future US administration changes its stance and abrogates the agreement, as president Donald Trump did in 2018; and that Washington remove its official terror group designation on Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards.

Price said the issues are surmountable but that the 11-month-old talks “are at a very delicate stage.”

See also:
–U.S. Weighs Dropping Iran’s IRGC From Terrorism List -Source
–Iran Releases 2 British Iranian Citizens From Prison
–UK Released $530 Million To Iran Before Prisoners Release -Fars
–Biden’s New Iran Deal Will Allow Putin To Circumvent Sanction While Paving The Pathway To A Nuclear Weapon For Iran
–Iran Defies Western Powers With Work On Near Weapons-Grade Uranium

Russia Says It Has Received US Guarantees Over Iran Nuclear Deal

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Al Jazeera:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow has received written guarantees from Washington that Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine will not affect cooperation with Iran within the framework of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Lavrov’s remarks on Tuesday – delivered as he hosted his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, for talks in the Russian capital – could potentially signal that Russia’s demand that the sanctions would not impede its future dealings with Iran has been fulfilled.

See also:
–Iran Has 3,000 Ballistic Missiles, Many That Can Reach Israel – US General
–Amid Iran Talks Crisis, Biden Faces Growing Opposition In Washington

Iran Says U.S. Has To Make Decision On Reviving Nuclear Deal

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Reuters:

The United States needs to make a decision to wrap up a deal to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday amid fears that talks in Vienna might collapse.

Efforts to clinch a new deal were left in limbo after a last-minute demand by Russia – now at odds with the West over its invasion of Ukraine – forced the powers to pause talks for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian will visit Russia on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference, without elaborating.

See also:
–Russia May Do Biden A Favor By Killing The Iran Deal
–Iran’s Strike On Iraq Puts US In Awkward Position Amid Nuclear Talks

Iran Claims Responsibility For Missiles That Struck Near A U.S. Consulate In Iraq

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NPR:

Iran claimed responsibility Sunday for a missile barrage that struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard earlier this week.

No injuries were reported in Sunday’s attack on the city of Irbil, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said on its website that it attacked what it described as an Israeli spy center in Irbil. It did not elaborate, but in a statement said Israel had been on the offensive, citing the recent strike that killed two members of the Revolutionary Guard.

Iran Deal Could Collapse On Russian Demands, Say France, UK, Germany

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Politico:

The U.K., France and Germany warned on Saturday that last-minute Russian demands for protection from sanctions could sink a nuclear deal with Iran that is ready to be sealed.

After almost a year of intermittent talks in Vienna, negotiators seemed to be about to clinch a deal to return to the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the agreement, Iran would limit its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, Moscow’s requests to get guarantees that any future Russian business with Iran would be exempt from EU and U.S. sanctions threw a wrench in the works.

Ballistic Missiles Fired At US Consulate In Iraq

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New York Post:

Up to a dozen ballistic missiles launched from Iran were fired early Sunday morning towards the US consulate in Iraq’s Kurdistan region capital of Erbil, officials said.

While no casualties were reported, Iraqi and US officials gave differing accounts of the attack, which also damaged the office building of a Kurdish news outlet.

A US State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press the strike was an “outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence.”

Iran Nuclear Talks On ‘Pause’ In Vienna After Russian Demand

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AP News:

Negotiations aimed at restoring Iran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers went on what its European hosts described as “a pause” on Friday, after Russia demanded relief from sanctions targeting Moscow over its war on Ukraine.

Diplomats offered no timetable for when the monthslong talks in Vienna would resume. Negotiators even on Friday maintained that a roadmap was near for how the United States could rejoin the accord it unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, and for Iran to again limit its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

While Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, only referred to “external factors” forcing the pausing, it appeared the Russian demand caused the disruption.

“The real issue for this pause here is what Russia has thrown on the table, which is essentially a grenade in the middle of the negotiations,” said Henry Rome, deputy head of research at the Eurasia Group who has been following the talks.

Iran Nuclear Talks Close To Collapse Over Russian Demands

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Politico:

The Iran nuclear talks are on the precipice of collapse over last-minute Russian demands for sanctions protection, according to two diplomats.

Negotiations have reached an impasse over the Russian requests, diplomats said, imperiling the revival of a 2015 landmark deal under which Iran limited its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. 

Russia is requesting that any return to the agreement include guarantees that any future Russian business with Iran be exempt from EU and U.S. sanctions — a late curveball from Moscow in response to the crippling penalties the country is facing over its invasion of Ukraine.  

But negotiators from the other world powers involved — including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and China, as well as senior EU diplomats — can’t find a way to accommodate the demands, diplomats said. So after 11 months of intermittent negotiations in Vienna, talks will likely take a pause to allow for bilateral conversations between Iran and Russia over the situation. Iran seems eager to close the deal, given the potential revenue it can gain from exporting its oil with prices now soaring and its need for sanctions relief. 

The development is a remarkable U-turn. As recently as last week, it was widely expected that negotiators were about to unveil an agreement to return to the 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), 

See also: Iran Pressures US Over Nuclear Talks Delay

Iran Nuclear Talks Stumble Over Unresolved Russia Demands On Ukraine

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The Algemeiner:

Eleven months of talks to restore the deal which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program have reached their final stages with several diplomats saying the nuclear deal was now broadly agreed.

But just as the final issues were being resolved, Russia presented a new obstacle by demanding written guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.

“There is still no resolution to the Russia demands,” said one Western diplomat after Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov and the talks’ coordinator, Enrique Mora of the European Union, held talks on Tuesday.

Mora and Ulyanov met again on Wednesday.

A European diplomat said Russia was demanding sweeping guarantees on trade between Moscow and Tehran.

They said the talks were now not likely to end this week.

See also: Iran Launches Second Military Satellite Amid Nuclear Deal Talks

Do Not Sabotage Iran Deal With New Conditions, West Tells Russia

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Reuters:

Western powers on Tuesday warned Russia against wrecking an almost completed deal on bringing the United States and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord, as Iran’s top negotiator was set to return from consultations in Tehran.

Eleven months of talks to restore the deal which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme have reached their final stages.

But they have been complicated by a last-minute demand from Russia for guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions targeting Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its business with Iran.

See also: U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Threats On U.S. Soil, But Blinken And Schiff Say This Shouldn’t Derail New Nuclear Deal

Iran Says Won’t Endanger National Interests After Russian Demand

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Al Jazeera:

Iran has said it will not allow foreign powers to force its hand and was awaiting clarification from Moscow after a new Russian demand about sanctions linked with Ukraine clouded the prospects of restoring a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

“While standing firm in maintaining our red lines, we won’t allow any foreign factors to impact our national interests” at the talks in Vienna, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a group of lawmakers on Monday, according to the foreign ministry.

His comments come after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded a written guarantee from the United States that Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine will not hinder Moscow from trading and cooperating with Tehran.

Iran’s Tasnim news website quoted Russia’s ambassador to Tehran, Levan Dzhagaryan, as saying there has been a “misunderstanding” about Lavrov’s comments without elaborating further.

It remained to be seen what the last-minute Russian demand will entail for the talks in the Austrian capital that appeared to be very close to the finish line after more than 11 months on Friday, but faced new uncertainty on Saturday when Lavrov made the demand.

See also: Iran Envoy Leaves As EU Says Time To Decide On Nuclear Talks

Iran, IAEA Agree Timeline To Remove Obstacle To Reviving Nuclear Deal

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Reuters:

Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Saturday agreed a three-month plan that in the best case will resolve the long-stalled issue of uranium particles found at old but undeclared sites in the country, removing an obstacle to reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Eleven months after indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 deal began in Vienna, delegates are trying to settle the final thorny issues within days as Western powers say time is running out since Iran’s nuclear advances will soon make the deal redundant.

See also: Russia Demands Protections If Iran Nuclear Deal Is Restored

UK, France Say Iran Nuclear Deal Is Close, Russia Points To Next Week

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Reuters:

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are close to reaching an agreement, the chief British and French envoys said on Friday as they and their German colleague flew home to brief ministers.

Their departure raised the possibility that the United States and Iran, which have been talking indirectly because Tehran refuses to meet face to face, might be preparing to sit down together though diplomats said there were no such plans.

“As far as I know, the Iranians are not ready for direct talks,” Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters. “We will have a deal maybe in the middle of next week. We are talking about the last efforts before crossing the finish line.”

See also: Iran: JCPOA Agreement Possible As Soon As ‘Red Lines’ Considered

Biden Is Betting Republican Senators Lack Votes To Derail Revival Of Iran Nuclear Deal

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NBC News:

As world powers and Iran appear poised to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the Biden administration is gambling it can withstand fierce Republican opposition and return the U.S. to the arms control accord.

Republican lawmakers have warned the White House that if the administration refuses to submit the Iran nuclear agreement to the Senate for review, it will have a political fight on its hands.

See also:
–Major Hurdle Still Exists As Iran Nuclear Talks Reach Finish Line
–Iran Deal ‘Cannot Be Postponed Any Longer’: German Chancellor

Iran Says Key Issues Still Unresolved In Nuclear Talks

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Reuters:

Iran said on Monday efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal could succeed if the United States took a political decision to meet Tehran’s remaining demands, as months of negotiations enter what one Iranian diplomat called a “now or never” stage.

The stakes are high, since the failure of 10 months of talks could carry the risk of a fresh regional war, of more harsh sanctions on Iran by the West and of continued upward pressure on world oil prices already strained by the Ukraine conflict.

See also: U.S., Iran Split Over Key Nuclear Issues As Deal Deadline Nears