As Vienna Talks Enter Eighth Session, Iran Regime Demands Show Signs of Escalation
Officials from the United States, Britain, France, and Germany all indicated that Iran’s posture in those talks had actually undermined earlier progress by backtracking on points that had supposedly been agreed upon.
Mullahs negotiators indicated that they consider the latter issue to be on a separate track, to be addressed after sanctions relief is confirmed. Western negotiators dismiss it as a non-starter even as they pressed forward with the diplomatic process.
In the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora told they would be pursuing “both tracks in parallel” and that resolution of the sanctions issue and the nuclear compliance issue. Western official support this approach but expressed doubt as to whether Tehran would comp
But this is no meaningful concession given that the 60 percent enrichment ceiling that was in place prior to the JCPOA, and much, much higher than the 3.67 percent level that Iranian facilities were held to while the 2015 agreement was in effect.
As long as this equipment remains online or easily accessible, the regime will be capable of further enriching its uranium even more quickly than before, thereby narrowing the window for its “breakout” to status as a nuclear-armed state.
Tehran’s intention to reap the benefits of sanctions relief under the JCPOA while also continuing to advance its nuclear program in defiance of that agreement, for an indeterminate amount of time after relief is re-established.
Toward that end, the US and the E3 signaled that the current round of negotiations would be among the last unless recognizable progress was achieved.
As talks over Iran’s nuclear program continue in Vienna, Tehran is making three key demands from the U.S.
