In exchange for sanctions relief, the US and Iran indicate nearing an agreement on the nuclear deal

Iran and the United States have denied a media report that they are close to an interim agreement with Tehran under which Iran commits to curbing its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

According to Reuters International news agency, Tehran has strongly rejected reports that Iran and the United States are reaching an “interim agreement” that provides for sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic in exchange for changes to the country’s peaceful nuclear energy program.

Iranian condemnation

According to the international agency, Iran’s mission to the United Nations made these statements yesterday (Thursday) evening after the British website “Middle East Eye” claimed that the countries were on the verge of concluding such a deal amidst the stagnation of talks on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached in 2015 between Iran and countries around the world, including the United States, the agency said. “It enabled limited sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic, which in turn volunteered to alter some aspects of its nuclear work; however, the United States left the deal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump and restored all sanctions it had lifted.”

American exile

Negotiations to revive the agreement began in April 2021, the news agency said. However, the talks were halted amid Washington’s refusal to give guarantees that it would not give up the deal again.

“There is no interim agreement that can replace the JCPOA,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said, adding that no such agreement was on the agenda. Also on Thursday, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council dismissed the report as false and misleading.

“Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, claimed that there was interest in bringing the United States back to the JCPOA; however, the Biden administration has not only stopped taking any actions that could pull the talks out of their current impasse, but has also imposed several rounds of its own sanctions against the Islamic Republic.”

False report

The Middle East Eye quoted two unnamed sources as saying that Iran and the United States had “reached an agreement on a temporary deal” to pass it on to their presidents.

Iran would stop enriching uranium to a purity of 60% or more and continue to cooperate with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency in return for exporting up to 1 million barrels of oil per day and accessing “income and other frozen funds abroad.”

The talks were led by US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley and Iran’s ambassador to the UN Saeed Erafani, and are a clear reflection of Iran’s refusal to deal directly with US officials, the website said.

A Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment on any such talks, saying only that it had ways to pass the messages to Iran, but did not elaborate on their content or how they were delivered.
Two Iranian officials told Reuters that progress had been made but no deal was imminent. A third report claimed that Mali and Irvani had met at least three times in recent weeks but did not give details.