The veterans of the Iranian file know it well: the theatrical declarations and the postures always accompanied the millimeter and technical research of a compromise on the nuclear program of the Islamic republic. The one signed in 2015, although imperfect, represented a rare success in multilateral diplomacy. Today, its signatories are trying to revive it. A small step, expected since the arrival of Joe Biden at the White House at the end of January, has finally been taken in this direction, Friday, April 2, after weeks of trial and error.
The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), composed of representatives of Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany and Great Britain, met by videoconference, under the authority of the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell. The United States, for the time being, were excluded, having left the agreement. A meeting, physical this one, is fixed for April 6, in Vienna, to continue the exchanges. It will then be a question of fixing the first sequence of the choreography, aiming at an American return to the JCPoA and a return to Iranian conformity, in relation to its commitments, under the agreement.
Joint diplomatic push
Those involved in the file decided not to sew these two parts together, but on the contrary to treat them separately. Success is far from guaranteed, but the rare peculiarity of this negotiation lies in the common diplomatic push between the Europeans, the Americans, the Russians and the Chinese, despite nuances of perspective among the latter two protagonists.
In order to obtain this first preparatory contact, the Europeans gave up at the last moment, on March 3, to table a resolution before the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This text aimed to denounce the reduction in the means of verification available to IAEA inspectors in Iran, due to the abandonment, on February 23, of the additional protocol of the JCPoA by the Iranian regime. Beijing and Moscow had judged that this European initiative fell badly.
The Iranians, for their part, have been particularly careful in recent months to accumulate negotiating chips, to approach any compromise offer from a stronger position. At this stage, they reject direct negotiations with the United States, even in the presence of the other signatories to the agreement. The lack of mutual trust remains very powerful, since the unilateral American withdrawal from the JCPoA, decided by Donald Trump in May 2018.
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