JEDDAH: The prospects of a revived agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting crippling economic sanctions receded on Friday when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was in no hurry to reach a deal.
Iran’s latest moves were a step backwards and Washington would not rush to rejoin the agreement at any cost, Blinken said on Friday.
European mediators last month appeared to make progress in restoring the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after Iran largely agreed to a proposed final text.
But optimism dimmed when the US sent a reply, to which Iran in turn responded.
“In past weeks, we’ve closed some gaps. Iran has moved away from some extraneous demands — demands unrelated to the JCPOA itself,” Blinken said.
“However, their latest response takes us backwards. And we’re not about to agree to a deal that doesn’t meet our bottom-line requirements. If we conclude a deal, it’s only because it will advance our national security.”
US President Joe Biden supports restoring the agreement, under which Iran will enjoy sanctions relief and again be able to sell its oil worldwide in return for tough restrictions on its nuclear program.
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.
Diplomats say Iran has dropped a demand that Biden lift Trump’s designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, a key sticking point.
Remaining disputes include Iran’s insistence that the UN atomic watchdog close an investigation into three undeclared sites suspected of previous nuclear work. However, that investigation is linked to a possible breach of the 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory, and is unconnected to the JCPOA.
Prospects of revived nuclear deal recede as Iran ‘moves backwards’
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Prospects of revived nuclear deal recede as Iran ‘moves backwards’
- US will not rush into a new agreement at any cost, secretary of state says
Head of Gaza technocrat committee in Washington for ‘Board of Peace’ meeting: Palestinian officials
- Shaath is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining the general framework of his plan for the first 100 days
- Around two dozen world leaders and senior officials have traveled to Washington for the meeting
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The head of the Palestinian technocratic committee formed to handle day-to-day governance of Gaza, Ali Shaath, was in Washington Thursday to attend the inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting, two Palestinian officials told AFP.
“Ali Shaath... arrived in Washington at dawn today to participate in the Washington meeting of the Board of Peace,” a source familiar with the committee told AFP.
“Shaath is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining the general framework of his plan for the first 100 days. He is accompanied by the committee’s official in charge of the finance portfolio,” the source added.
A committee member confirmed to AFP that Shaath had arrived “following an invitation he received yesterday to attend the Washington meeting.”
Around two dozen world leaders and senior officials have traveled to Washington for the meeting, which was set up after the Trump administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of war in Gaza.
Around two dozen world leaders and senior officials have traveled to Washington for the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace,” which was set up after the Trump administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of war in Gaza.
At Thursday’s meeting, Trump is expected to detail pledges of more than $5 billion for Gaza.
The meeting will also look at how to launch the International Stabilization Force that will ensure security in Gaza.
