Expectations are growing that the green light has been turned on in negotiations to restore the nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) between the United States and Iran. The United States is responding to the EU’s mediation to restore the nuclear agreement.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Nasser Khanani said on the 24th (local time) that “the EU has received a written opinion from the United States on the final arbitration proposal for the nuclear deal,” according to Archyde.com. The United States, which withdrew from the nuclear deal during the Trump administration in 2018, responded to Iran through the EU, which is mediating indirect negotiations with Iran.
“We are carefully reviewing the U.S. position,” Khanani said. The US State Department also confirmed that it had delivered its opinion on the EU arbitration proposal to Iran. In this regard, Bloomberg and other foreign media evaluated it as “a signal that the US and Iran might reach a nuclear agreement.”
It is reported that the US and Iran are closing their differences over the recent nuclear deal. Iran has insisted on stopping the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) investigation of unreported nuclear material found in the country, but it is reported to have withdrawn. Foreign media reports also reported that the US had demanded that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) be withdrawn as a foreign terrorist organization.
White House National Security Council (NSC) Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby confirmed at a briefing today that Iran had conceded some of its demands. “We’re closer than we were just a few weeks ago,” he said. “This is a positive step forward.” However, he took a cautious stance, saying, “The difference between the two sides still remains. An agreement has not yet been reached.”
The Iran nuclear deal meant that economic sanctions on Iran would be lifted in exchange for limiting Iran’s nuclear program. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and Germany and Iran signed the agreement in 2015. However, following Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, Iran continued its nuclear activities, including increasing uranium enrichment levels. Negotiations to restore the nuclear agreement began in April last year, with the EU mediating dialogue between the US and Iran.
Reporter Semin Heo [email protected]