Iran-US delegations discussion end inconclusively

Indirect negotiations held last week on May 1 in a Persian Gulf country between Iranian and US delegations ended inconclusively, a senior source in Iran's Supreme National Security Council told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Azernews reports.

According to him, the meeting discussed Iran's nuclear issue, the reduction of tensions in the region, and Tehran's ability to maintain calm in the Gaza Strip in return for restoring the earlier unwritten agreement on the nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington.

The Iranian source added that both sides made their demands at the meeting. However, it was decided to hold another meeting at a location to be agreed upon later.

The source informed that the Iranian delegation was advised by the US side to go back to the prior arrangement that was made in Oman.

The proposal urges an undeclared return to the terms of the nuclear deal.

Thus, in return for Iran's enrichment of uranium above 3.67 percent and compliance with the limits set by the agreement (JCPOA) in 2015, Washington will stop imposing some sanctions against Iran without any formal announcements, when conditions of trust will be created between the two sides.

Besides, the Iranian source said that the US delegation urged Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and allow the agency to conduct a comprehensive inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities before proceeding with any agreement between the two sides to determine the pace and scope of uranium enrichment.

The US side noted that a formal return to the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) must be accompanied by talks on Iran's regional activities, missile program, and drone and missile deliveries to Russia.

According to the Iranian source, the Iranian delegation responded to US demands for verification by noting that Iran has provided the IAEA with accurate reports on its nuclear facilities and that there is no provision for verification under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement (NPT).

Moreover, it should be noted that in August last year (2023), an indirect agreement was achieved between Iran and the US through the mediation of Qatar. Based on the agreement, Iranian and US citizens detained in the two countries were released, as well as Iranian funds frozen in other countries.

To note, the Comprehensive Plan of Joint Action on Iran's nuclear program was implemented between Iran and the P5+1 group (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) in January 2016. The US announced in May 2018 that it was withdrawing from the plan and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. Iran has announced that there will be no restrictions on the Iran nuclear deal in 2020.

In late 2020, the Iranian parliament adopted a strategic plan to counter the sanctions, citing the non-fulfillment of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and six countries and the imposition of sanctions on Iran.

Based on the decision of the Iranian parliament, as of February 23, Iran stopped the implementation of additional measures and an additional protocol included in the nuclear deal. As a consequence, the monitoring mechanism of the IAEA was reduced by 20–30 percent.