The UN Security Council convened to discuss Iran a day after US-Iranian indirect talks ended in Doha with no sign of progress on resurrecting the pact under which Thran limited its nuclear program in exchange for relief from US, UN and EU sanctions.
“I am concerned that we may not cross the finish line. My message is: Seize this opportunity to close the deal, based on the text that is on the table,” the statement said. European Union Ambassador to the United Nations, Olof Skoog.
The EU is coordinating talks on reviving the deal, which then-US President Donald Trump reneged on in 2018 and reinstated harsh US sanctions on Iran, prompting Thran to start violating his nuclear restrictions about a year later.
“The prospects for an agreement after Doha are worse than before Doha and they will deteriorate day by day,” the senior US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
“Doha could be described as walking on water at best, at worst a step backwards. addition.
The Security Council met to discuss the latest report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the implementation of a 2015 Council resolution that enshrines the nuclear deal, officially called the Action Plan Global Joint (JCPOA).
American, British and French diplomats have all blamed Iran for the failure to revive the agreement after more than a year of negotiations.
Iran “should urgently accept this agreement – there will be no better one”, declared the British ambassador to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward.
“Iran has yet to show real urgency to reach a deal, end the current nuclear crisis and secure a significant lifting of sanctions,” said Richard Mills, US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations. , during the meeting.
“Iran not only did not accept the offer on the table, but it added yet other issues that do not belong to the JCPOA with maximalist and unrealistic demands,” said the French ambassador to the UN. , Nicolas de Rivire.
Iran, however, described the latest talks as “serious and positive” and said it was ready to strike a deal.
“Iran has demanded verifiable and objective guarantees from the United States that the JCPOA will not be torpedoed again, that the United States will not violate its obligations again, and that the sanctions will not be reimposed under other pretexts or designations,” Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi told the Council.
The senior US official disputed Thran’s argument that Washington was to blame for the lack of progress, saying the US had responded positively to EU-proposed changes to the draft text of an agreement reached in talks wider in March, when Iran did not respond to these proposals.
“Their vague demands, the reopening of settled issues, and demands clearly unrelated to the JCPOA, all suggest to us … that the real discussion that needs to take place is (not) between Iran and the United States- United to resolve the remaining differences. It’s between Iran and Iran,” the senior US official said.
“At this stage, I’m not sure they (the Iranians) know what more they want. They didn’t come to Doha with specific details,” he added.
However, Chinese and Russian diplomats caught the US at fault, with the Beijing representative urging Washington to ease unilateral US sanctions on Iran and the Russian representative calling on all parties to show flexibility.