Iranian lawmakers have urged President Ebrahim Raisi to get assurances from the United States and three European countries that they will not walk out of the nuclear deal being renegotiated in Vienna, Iranian state media reported Sunday.
In a letter to Raisi, they stated that America and the three European countries in the nuclear deal: Britain, France and Germany must also guarantee that they will not trigger a mechanism by which sanctions against Iran will be immediately imposed if Iran violates compliance with the nuclear agreement.
The statement was signed by 250 of Iran’s 290 lawmakers. It comes as negotiators from Iran and the remaining parties to the agreement: Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, seek to revive the 2015 deal, which granted sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
America participated indirectly in the talks since it left the deal in 2018 under President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden has signaled he will rejoin the agreement.
Iranian lawmakers also require that a return to the deal is only possible if all sanctions against Iran are lifted. They also want to first confirm that Iran receives money from its exports, before returning to nuclear compliance, the letter said.
On February 19, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said talks in Vienna had taken place in the past 10 months and that “all elements for the conclusion of negotiations are open.” But he also criticized Iran for continuing uranium enrichment while halting monitoring by the UN nuclear agency.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that it was up to Western countries to show flexibility and “the ball is now on them.” Iran, he said, “is ready to strike a good deal.”[ka/lt]