The nuclear talks and their ups and downs have become an endless series of stalemates in recent years. As we are approaching the final parts of these discussions, it should be noted that the crises that the Iranian regime is facing these days have reached a turning point and it is clear that their nuclear ambitions will not cure any of their pains.
Following the inconclusive indirect negotiations in Doha on June 28 and 29, between the Iranian regime and the US government, moderated by Enrique Mora, the representative of the European Union, the regime’s media is broadcasting contrary positions on this round of talks.
The state-run news agency ILNA wrote, “The adviser to Iran’s nuclear-negotiating team said the Doha talks had not failed. Mohammad Marandi, one of the advisers to the regime’s nuclear-negotiating team, stressed that the Doha talks had not failed, saying ‘we do not take the media statements of Washington officials seriously’.”
“Speaking to Al-Mayadin, he added that talks on the remaining controversial issues in Vienna had not failed and that the process would continue. Negotiations with a positive solution were not expected to end in just two days. The Americans must provide guarantees that we are seeking and ensure that they do not stab us in the back like in the past.”
In an article published by the state-run news agency Fars, the mouthpiece of the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the managing director of Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, said, “The U.S. in Qatar is the same as of in Vienna” and added,
“Iran’s negotiations with the 4 + 1 which took place in Vienna, were halted because of the U.S. government’s objections to the lifting of the sanctions and its refusal to present credible assurances on fulfilling its obligations.”
He went on to claim that “the United States and its European allies need and pursue ‘fruitless negotiations’ to preoccupy our country with its harmful consequences such as controlling the price of currency and gold, creating price turmoil and dozens of other upheavals caused by these ups and downs in our country’s economy.”
This ridiculous claim about the regime’s economic turmoil was even mocked by the regime’s own media. On June 25, the state-run daily Jomhouri Eslami wrote, “Let us analyze the sad story of inflation in two periods. In the previous government (inflation) was a sign of westernism, lack of management, and even indifferences, but today it has become a subject of the divine test. By interpreting it, an objection will be considered as opposing the will of God.”
Kayhan’s editor-in-chief Hossein Shariatmadari complained about the US government’s positions, saying, “Now look at the report by Robert Mali, the US Special Representative for Iran, which was submitted to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 27. As can be seen, Mali explicitly states that we will never lift sanctions.”
On June 29, the state-run news agency Tasnim admitted to the failure and wrote, “The two-day talks in Doha are over, but the deadlock between us and the United States has not yet been broken. Washington is still reluctant to offer guarantees. What prevented the talks from coming to fruition was the US insistence on the text of its draft proposal in Vienna, which has no guarantees for Iran’s economic interests.”
In a tweet on June 30, Enrique Mora wrote, “Two intense days of proximity talks in Doha on JCPOA. Unfortunately, not yet the progress the EU team and coordinator had hoped-for.”
As one of the main reasons for the stalemate of the negotiations, some international media outlets wrote that the regime has raised old issues that have been resolved and some other issues that are new but have nothing to do with the nuclear deal.
Earlier, the US government had stated that it will not negotiate any new cases that are not relevant to the JCPOA. The regime’s insistence shows that they have the lower hand and are practically begging for some cases that are vital for their survival.
