While no developments have been announced so far regarding the resumption of negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement; “According to the series of messages we received from the United States and Europe, it is likely that negotiations to revive the nuclear deal will resume soon,” said Shahryar Heidari, a member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament.
Heidari told Mehr news agency today, Wednesday, May 17: “America is looking forward to obtaining the largest number of points from the nuclear agreement so that the agreement reaches a result … but at our expense.”
He added, “They should know that Iran’s position and strategy in the agreement is stable, and that the success of the agreement and the complete lifting of sanctions against Tehran are important to us.”
These statements came while the US Assistant Secretary of State said, on Tuesday evening, about the possibility of reviving the nuclear agreement, that there is no new news in this regard. “I have nothing to announce this time and nothing has been taken off the table,” he said.
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, emphasized that reviving the nuclear deal is not possible without cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said today, Wednesday, in response to Grossi’s remarks: “The agency is not responsible for the negotiations, and this responsibility rests with the parties to the nuclear agreement.”
In response to a question about lifting the arms embargo on Iran in October 2023, Islami said on the sidelines of the government delegation meeting in the presence of journalists: “According to the nuclear agreement, the arms embargo must be lifted.”
The statements of Iranian regime officials regarding the nuclear deal came after the secret meeting of senior officials in the Biden government with senators on Iran. Some of these deputies did not find the meeting useful, and in statements to Iran International criticized the US government for not having a coherent plan regarding the Iranian file.
After the meeting, Republican Senator Josh Hawley told Iran International correspondent Arash Alaei: “The meeting wasn’t necessarily a useful meeting. I don’t know if the Biden administration really has a coherent strategy with regard to Iran. Secret or new about Tehran in this meeting.
As Republican Senator John F. Kennedy told Iran International, “Although sanctions have slowed Iran and Russia down, they have not stopped them. But if you ask the Biden administration what it plans to do, aside from the sanctions, it won’t have an answer.”
Although Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, sent the request for this meeting to the Biden administration months ago, Robert Malley, the US Special Representative for Iran Affairs, was not present at this meeting.
