Since the new government in the US took over and has started its job and raised the issue of the negotiations about the Iranian regime’s nuclear case known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the regime put two conditions on the table as the insurance of the continuation of the negotiations.
- All the sanctions related to the regime’s nuclear case, human rights, and weapon embargo must be lifted.
- The negotiating counterparts, especially the US government must ensure that the next US government will not cancel the JCPOA once again.
After two rounds of negotiations, the regime stepped back and accepted that only sanctions related to the JCPOA should be lifted and other sanctions related to other cases of the regime should be remain.
The regime’s foreign minister, Hussein Amir Abdollahian, told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “We have provided two texts on the issue of lifting sanctions and nuclear. These texts are following the JCPOA, and we have not made any demands beyond the JCPOA.” (State-run news agency IRNA, December 15, 2021)
Then the regime accepted that the IAEA install new surveillance cameras in the Karaj’s nuclear site. Right after this event, the regime government claimed that the budget of 2022 has been set, even if, not any of the sanctions would be removed. And added that it can save the country’s dying economy from a total collapse with the remaining sanctions, especially those that have restricted the regime’s oil sale. And put a step further and said that they have witnessed an 8 percent of economic growth in 2021.
Now the question is if the regime was able to create an economic boom in 2021 and has no need in the lifting of the sanctions, why did it accept that sanctions not related to its nuclear case remain, and accepted the IAEA’s new surveillance cameras?
The truth is that there is no other reason than economic suffocation. More important the regime fears the consequences of such a crisis which are the people’s protests.
It’s not without reason that the regime’s media and officials are speaking about the loss of the ‘People’s trust’ and warning each other about nationwide protests.
The state-run daily Arman in an article entitled ‘the people living is tied to the JCPOA’ wrote: “The 13th administration was forced to pursue nuclear negotiations” and “this administration is also taking steps in the same direction as the previous administration, and all it hopes is that by a new opening in the JCPOA, it can solve the problems of the people. Because “on the whole, the sanctions have taken any movement from the country’s economy.” (State-run daily Arman, December 18, 2021)
The same paper in another article entitled ‘There is no choice but to agree on negotiations’, confessed that the regime’s government has no other way, but to accept the demands of the counterparts.
“The 13th government is trying to conclude negotiations. Because the only way is to negotiate the lifting of sanctions, and the lifting of sanctions is the only solution to improving the economic and livelihood situation and putting behind internal crises. The 2022 budget by Raisi’s government shows that Iran is seeking to revive the JCPOA and lift sanctions.” (State-run daily Arman, December 18, 2021)
Regarding the installation of surveillance cameras on the Karaj site, the state-run daily Jahan-e Sanat wrote:
“We saw that both Kamalvandi and Islami, even if they used to say that the Karaj site is not within the mandate of UN’s inspections because it does not do nuclear work, has retreated under pressure from the agency and allowed the agency’s experts to come and install their cameras.
“Of course, it was the right thing to do, because otherwise, the Board of Governors (of the IAEA) would have issued a resolution against us, and our case would go to the (UN’s) Security Council, and it would be difficult.” (State-run daily Jahan-e Sanat, December 18, 2021)
