Iran: Return to Pre-Geneva Deal Conditions “Dangerous Scenario”
TEHRAN (Tasnim) –An Iranian deputy foreign minister warned against return to the conditions ahead of the landmark nuclear deal which was clinched between Iran and six world powers in the Swiss city of Geneva back in 2013.
"Nobody wants a return to the conditions before the Geneva deal, because it will be a dangerous scenario for all,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with al-Alam Arabic language news network.
“The (final) nuclear deal would be certainly beneficial to the both sides and to the whole region. The two negotiating sides are mindful of the point," he emphasized.
Araqchi is a senior member of the Iranian team of nuclear negotiators that are in talks with the sextet of world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) to secure a final deal to end a decade-long impasse over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear energy program.
On November 24, 2013, Iran and the G5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3) signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Under the interim accord, the six nations agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a limited period.
The Geneva deal (the Joint Plan of Action) came into effect in January and expired in July, when the parties decided to extend negotiations until November 24 in the hope of clinching a final, comprehensive deal that would end a decade of impasse over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear energy program.
Elsewhere in the interview, Araqchi referred to Iran’s uranium enrichment activities and the procedure for the removal of anti-Iran sanctions as two of the most significant issues under debate in the negotiations.
He further dismissed media speculation about the the size and scope of Iran's uranium enrichment capacity or the number of its centrifuge machines under a comprehensive nuclear accord.
“This is pure speculation fueled by the Western media outlets and I do not confirm it. Not any agreement has been made on the level of Iran’s (uranium) enrichment.”
Pointing to the sanctions slapped on Iran over its civilian nuclear work, Araqchi insisted that the long-awaited final nuclear deal should lead to the removal of the entire sanctions.
“There are four channels of sanctions, and we believe all of them should be terminated. They include the sanctions imposed by the (United Nations) Security Council, the European Union, the US Congress and the US president, namely those that have taken effect according to the (US) president’s executive orders,” he explained.
The diplomat also made a reference to an upcoming trilateral meeting between Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Oman’s capital of Muscat, describing the gathering as “very important and decisive.”
“If we manage to make a headway at the Oman meeting, I think we will be able to handle the remaining issues before November 24. We are not hopeless,” he underlined.
The comments came ahead of a new round of nuclear talks slated for November 18 in Vienna. The negotiations are seen as a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement by November 24 deadline.
