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
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
