After the first round of Iran’s nuclear negotiations with world powers, known as the JCPOA, Ali Bagheri, the Iranian regime’s lead negotiator said: “The result of the previous six rounds of the negotiations is a draft and not an agreement. And a draft relates to the place of negotiations. Nothing is agreed upon until everything has been agreed upon.” (State-run daily Entekhab, November 30, 2021)
The AP on Tuesday reported: “Iran struck a hard line Tuesday after just one day of restarted talks in Vienna over its tattered nuclear deal, suggesting everything discussed in previous rounds of diplomacy could be renegotiated.” (AP, November 30, 2021)
After this round of negotiations in fear, Iranian state media warned the regime about the failure of the negotiations.
They are suggesting to the regime that the result of the negotiations is a landmark therefore the regime’s government should not lose this opportunity and prevent any failure.
The state-run daily Arman said that the negotiations are hanging on a ‘hair stream’ and suggested to the regime’s negotiators that, ‘this hair should not be cut’ and if it is cut, ‘one of the most difficult stages of the country’s history will happen’ and ‘if the negotiations fail, dangerous events will engulf the country (read the regime), in short, said, the delegation of Iran should not leave the negotiations with empty hands in any circumstances.” (State-run daily Arman, November 30, 2021)
Then this daily attacked the regime’s principlist faction and said, ‘did you have understood now that the lifting of all sanctions is more important than the burning of the JCPOA.’ Then it pointed to the changing approach of many of the regime’s media mainly those affiliated with the regime’s supreme leader who in the past said the ‘JCPOA should be burnt’, but now the situation has become so critical that they are not only speaking about the burning of the JCPOA but, ‘their fear and panic’ has become so widen, so that ‘they are calling the JCPOA, not a harm’ and ‘people who called the sanctions a gift, are now negotiating for the lifting of the sanctions. If they really believed that the sanctions are a gift, why are they now struggling to destroy this gift?” (State-run daily Arman, November 30, 2021)
Iran experts believe that if the negotiators seek an agreement and wish for the lifting of the sanctions, they must pay the price for it. The price as the columnist of the Jahan-e Sanat daily wrote, ‘The United States wants Iran to set aside its ambitions not only in the use of nuclear energy but also in regional affairs defined by the United States and the great world powers. Accept what the United States calls terrorism and abandon support for terrorism as defined by the United States.”
Tehran is making many maximalist requests, none of which have been accepted by the US government, which has led to a halt in the negotiations.
These are, guarantee by the US government not to impose new sanctions and not re-impose previously lifted sanctions. They asked the US government to unfreeze $10 billion in assets as an initial goodwill gesture. And finally, they asked that the US government should ensure that they will not leave the agreement ever again.
Iran experts say Iran does not have the possibility of any new maneuver, and it is facing a dilemma and must make the final decision.
Either it should step back from its conditions and by accepting the conditions of the world power it must drink from a new poison chalice, or it must face itself with greater problems.
To prevent greater dangers, the state-run daily Setareh-e Sobh suggested to the regime: “The negotiators must be fully aware of the consequences of the JCPOA revival negotiations and try to find a way to at least prevent the negotiations to fail once they have entered into negotiations. This could be, in the short term, opening the door to negotiation or finding a temporary agreement with the joint venture and leaving the door open to negotiate to resolve disputes in the future.” (State-run daily Setareh-e Sobh, November 30, 2021)
Assuming that the regime’s negotiators accept such a situation then the regime must accept a serial of retreats and as the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said, ‘to be caught in endless decline.’ And in such a situation the regime will get to its final stage which is the confrontation with the people.
If Tehran fails to accept the conditions of the US and EU, it will face a great confrontation in the region.
“The domestic, regional and international situation of the country will be very different from the current situation after the possible failure of the negotiations; Nothing more can be said at this time.” (State-run daily Arman, November 30, 2021)
“If the other side does not agree to the demand, it will put Iran (regime) in a much more difficult situation than before, and it is unlikely that even Russia and China will be willing to support Iran (regime). (State-run daily Shargh, November 30, 2021)
