The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, warned on Wednesday that the negotiations on a possible restoration of the JCPOA deal will fail unless US President Joe Biden gives some guarantees.
"The US President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear", Shamkhani tweeted.
His remarks come shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday underlined the importance of mutual benefit as the basis of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.
"The purpose of negotiations is not talking for the sake of talking but to achieve tangible results on the basis of respect for mutual interests. The P4+1 should be ready for negotiations based on mutual interests & rights", Amirabdollahian tweeted.
Tehran blasted the fact that Washington, while expressing interest in returning to the JCPOA, at the same time continues to impose sanctions on Iranian officials. In late October, the US Department of the Treasury imposed a new round of sanctions on four individuals and two entities allegedly involved in promoting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme.
Despite the new sanctions, Washington appeared to welcome the idea of quickly restoring the 2015 agreement after Iran said that the stalled Vienna talks would resume by the end of November.
Vienna Nuclear Talks
The talks between the JCPOA signatories to restore the deal kicked off in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April. In June, the negotiations hit a deadlock.
However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in early November that it will announce the date for the talks to resume after consulting all parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), primarily China.
While the issue of US anti-Iranian sanctions remains acute for Tehran, the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States have stated that in order for the sanctions to be lifted, Iran must first return to compliance with the JCPOA. US President Joe Biden asserted that Washington is ready to return "to full compliance with the JCPOA and to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same".
Tehran stepped away from its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA shortly after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal in 2018. Iran has consistently reiterated that because it was Washington's move to exit the deal, it is now up to the US to take the first step and lift the sanctions before Tehran returns to its own JCPOA commitments.