A senior Russian diplomat says the Vienna talks aimed at the removal of US sanctions and revival of the 2015 nuclear deal can be wrapped up within days but the United States is not ready to take the necessary steps.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations, said according to his country's assessments the talks “can be completed in almost one or two days.”
The remaining issues are “not complicated”, he stressed, adding that it seems the US is “not ready for the resumption of negotiations,” Russia's state-run TASS reported on Wednesday.
The remarks come as negotiations, which started in April last year in Vienna, remain stalled since August as Washington refuses to remove sanctions that were slapped on the Islamic Republic by the previous US administration of Donald Trump.
This is while after taking office, the Biden administration had criticized his predecessor's decision to scrap the deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and vowed to reverse the measure.
On the contrary, the Biden administration officials have upped the so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran and on several occasions announced that the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord are no longer their main focus.
Iran envoy: US must choose diplomacy over pressure, confrontation if it really seeks JCPOA revival
There are signs that the United States made a decision to at least "freeze" the negotiations, Ulyanov said, noting that it is “irresponsible” to stop the talks based on “implausible pretexts” while there are “literally few steps left to the finish line.”
He also warned that there is a “risk of escalation” which can become “uncontrollable” in case the talks are not completed.
Ulyanov, however, hoped that the recent statements by senior US officials about JCPOA would not be their “last word”.
US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby on Tuesday accused Iran of "cracking down on protestors" and "sending drones to Russia", noting that at this time Washington does not “see a deal coming together anytime soon.”
“What we’re focused on right now are practical ways to confront Iran in those areas and not on the Iran deal,” Kirby said.
US needs to respond positively to Iran's goodwill in JCPOA revival talks: China Foreign Ministry
Observers believe Washington is trying to use these baseless accusations against Iran to gain leverage in talks and negotiate from a position of strength.
Tehran has repeatedly rejected reports of drone delivery to Russia for use in the Ukraine war while also condemning the US and other Western countries for stoking the deadly unrest in the country with "interventionist remarks".
Iran’s intelligence bodies have found footprints of American and other Western spy agencies in recent violent riots inside Iran which erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in mid-September
Iran reaffirms readiness
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also touched upon the Vienna talks while speaking to reporters on Wednesday in Amman, noting that the Iranian delegation held a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference ll on Tuesday.
Biden’s humbug: Tells Iran ‘in hurry’ to revive JCPOA; tells US media ‘not a priority’
“In the past two to three months, the American side made some hypocritical statements … they had been repeatedly announcing their preference for the final step for the return of all sides to the agreement in Vienna but behaved hypocritically in the media,” he said.
The Iranian delegation stressed in the meeting that if the American side's claim of pursuing diplomacy is true, then they should not seek leverage through these statements in the media, the top diplomat said.
“We assume that different sides are returning to realism and we also announced that if all of our red lines are observed, we are ready to take the final step for reaching an agreement.”
Iran has demanded that the United States provide assurances that it would not leave the JCPOA again before it could reenter the agreement. Washington has refused to give a legally enforceable guarantee, leaving Iranian negotiators suspicious of the Biden administration’s seriousness in the talks.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/12/21/694903/Vienna-talks-can-be-completed-in-less-than-two-days
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
