Page 3 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 51 to 75 of 138
  1. #51
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Still negotiating.

  2. #52
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    A press conference from dated 13/04/21 regarding ameristans future engagement with Afghanistan officials.

    "a lesson that we learned from .... is that all the tools at our disposal for doing their part to keep their commitment, which, you know, we’re not just going to take on faith that they will do."

    In addition, he stated:

    "The remaining military presence in Afghanistan will be the force required to protect our diplomatic presence."


    Access Denied

    Which suggests it will adopt the position of Iran has recently voiced in Europe regarding faith, along with military for its embassy protection.

    Will ameristan deliver?
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  3. #53
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    You just don't understand "negotiations" at all, do you Hoohoo?

  4. #54
    Thailand Expat
    Klondyke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Last Online
    26-09-2021 @ 10:28 PM
    Posts
    10,105
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Still negotiating.
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    You just don't understand "negotiations" at all, do you Hoohoo?
    Perhaps he doesn't understand how it goes "negotiating" with the chopper on the roof of the embassy...

  5. #55
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    You just don't understand "negotiations" at all, do you Hoohoo?


    Iran embarrassed Netanyahu and cornered the West in Vienna


    Posted on 18/04/2021 by Elijah J Magnier


    .

    In this photo taken and released on Saturday, April 10, 2021, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, a newly domestic built IR-9 centrifuge is displayed in a ceremony to commemorate Iran’s new nuclear achievements in Tehran, Iran. Iran said Saturday it has begun mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge, even as the five world powers that remain in a foundering 2015 nuclear deal with Iran attempt to bring the U.S. back into the agreement. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

    By Elijah J. Magnier:


    "The Islamic Republic proved to be a shark with sharp teeth during its negotiation with the signatories (Russia, China, France, Great Britain and Germany) of the nuclear deal in Vienna, leaving few choices to the negotiators. Iran showed how complex and inflexible its position is with the most powerful county in the world, forbidding the US envoy to join the mediators in the same room because Donald Trump revoked its 2015 nuclear deal agreement. Moreover, Iran used the Israeli sabotage actions against the Natanz nuclear facility as an excuse to hit Israel, the US and all European negotiators who side with the Americans. It brought to the Vienna negotiation table news that it has started enriching uranium to its highest-ever purity of 60% and while its advanced IR9 centrifuges produce 9 grams an hour (although Iran will drop production to 5 grams an hour in the coming days).

    This new Iranian capability is embarrassing for Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who thought he was in control of the situation but who now realises that he is to blame for Iran’s surprising reaction that has greatly improved its negotiating position. European negotiators had no choice but to bow to Iran’s response and retaliation. It was a blow to Netanyahu, who had bragged about his Natanz’s sabotage operation and saidthat he, as a person, “would never allow Iran to obtain nuclear capability”.

    US intelligence wrongly estimates that Iran needs nine months to restore Natanz’s production. Both the US and Israel believed Iran is in a weak position, demanding nine months of negotiations, and that there is, therefore, no hurry to lift the sanctions. It took Iran nine hours to change the old IR1 centrifuge for a more advanced IR6 centrifuge that can separate isotopes more quickly than the older one, resuming production in a massive blow to Iran’s adversaries.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu believed the lack of Iranian retaliation to his thousand attacks in Syria against targets that included some Iranian warehouses and assets meant that he could repeat the same scenario against Iran in its theatre at the Straits of Hormuz and in the Red Sea.

    Netanyahu was a victim of his own bravado. He broke the Israeli tradition of denying responsibility for sabotage attacks carried out by the Mossad overseas. Iran surprised Netanyahu and his chief of staff, Aviv Kohavi, when an Israeli ship was hit by a missile launched from a drone in the Red Sea that is not far from Iran’s area of control. Iranian intelligence capability demonstrated the effectiveness of its close monitoring of the Israeli owned ship navigating in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy demonstrated competent retaliation under orders.

    In the last ten years, the Israeli Prime Minister and his military advisors were right in estimating that the war in Syria was an opportunity to destroy the Syrian army’s capability. The country was occupied by Takfiri (ISIS and al-Qaeda), Turkey and the US were occupying the north, EU and US sanctions were imposed on the central government, and the economy was critical. Moreover, Russia wanted to avoid another front between Syria and Israel at all costs. Moscow offered President Bashar al-Assad unlimited quantities of interception missiles and managed to secure the approval of Assad not to go to war with Israel at least until the country recovers. The Syrian President rejected multiple Iranian arguments that deterrence must be imposed – like the deterrence established by Hezbollah in Lebanon – by bombing selective Israeli targets using Syria’s stockpile of Iranian precision missiles to prevent further Israeli violations.

    Nevertheless, Netanyahu and his team were wrong in expecting Iran would refrain from retaliating for the Israeli assassination, sabotage and attacks against Iranian ships. Iran has changed its strategy of avoiding conflict when it downed the most expensive US drone and bombed the largest US military base in Iraq, Ayn al-Assad. Iranian officials had decided to take the matter in hand and not ask their allies to fight on its behalf.

    The fact that Iran has become a regional power with significant influence in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan, means that Iran can show to its allies spread in the area of influence that it dares to fight the most powerful country in the world face-to-face and to hit back fearlessly the US’s main ally in the Middle East, Israel.

    Iran accepted the Israeli challenge and took advantage of the opportunity given when Israel acknowledged its responsibility for the sabotage attack in Natanz and against the Iranian ship in the Red Sea. Iran has managed to transform the menace into an opportunity and to impose its conditions on the negotiators in Vienna. Netanyahu burned his fingers and now realizes better that playing with Iran is not without consequences. He has seriously weakened his European and American partners in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.

    The Iranian delegation told their interlocutors around the table that it doesn’t have much time to lose and that any attempt to circumvent negotiations will not be tolerated. Tehran showed its capability to develop military nuclear grade, outside of any defensive or offensive strategy.

    Iran did not ask for a guarantee against another Trump-like decision – which revoked the nuclear deal – in the future because its nuclear capability is the guarantee. Iran is not asking for a guarantee from China and Russia, which are under US sanctions. Iran exhausted its patience in 2018 when it waited for an entire year without using its right to gradually withdraw from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Iran then believed Europe might come forward and hold to its commitments even if the US pulled back. That was not the case, and Tehran is now aware that Europe and the US have the same objectives hidden behind different behaviours.

    Today it is known that Iran is enriching uranium up to 60% and can reach 90% in several months. This does not mean Iran is necessarily producing nuclear weapons, but it is enough to cross the West’s red lines. If the US sanctions are not lifted or partially lifted, if the deal is revoked or other sanctions are imposed in the future, Iran will fall back into its complete nuclear cycle without any warning.

    The Iranian negotiators are asking that all sanctions be lifted. They will provide a list of sanctions to be immediately eliminated. The Leader of the Revolution Sayyed Ali Khamenei instructed his negotiators that Iran is not ready to make any gesture of goodwill, nor is it in a position to understand the US President’s domestic bickering and struggle with those who stand against the nuclear deal. The ball is in the US’s court, and Biden has little time to lose. This time Netanyahu is licking his wounds instead of driving the equation."

    https://ejmagnier.com/2021/04/18/ira...est-in-vienna/

  6. #56
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Still negotiating....

  7. #57
    Thailand Expat
    Klondyke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Last Online
    26-09-2021 @ 10:28 PM
    Posts
    10,105
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Still negotiating....
    A chopper (not just one) on a high stand-by...

  8. #58
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Definite policy

    April 20, 2021 - 22:7

    "TEHRAN – As Iran and the remaining parties to the tattered 2015 nuclear deal resumed their work on Tuesday, several press reports resurfaced that Iran and the U.S. could proceed with a step-by-step plan to revive the nuclear deal.

    But these reports stood in contrast to the policy declared by high-level Iranian authorities that the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), must be revived in one major step.

    From the outset, there has been a wave of speculations on social media platforms over how the JCPOA would be revived. Some said the nuclear deal should be revived by convincing the United States to lift all of its sanctions on Iran and then encourage Iran to reverse its remedial nuclear measures while others speculated that a gradual process is needed to revitalize the JCPOA, one that would see both Iran and the U.S. taking simultaneous steps to gradually return to compliance with the JCPOA.

    These speculations intensified over the past few weeks as Iran and the P4+1 (China, Russia, France, and the UK plus Germany) entered the stage of drafting an agreement on how Tehran and Washington would return to the JCPOA.

    The Washington Post reported on Monday that Iran and the U.S. are moving toward what can be called a step-by-step plan to revive the JCPOA. Citing officials familiar with the Vienna talks, the American paper claimed, “both Iran and the Biden administration — which initially made a similar demand that Iran act first by returning to compliance with the original terms of the deal — are moving toward simultaneous, sequential steps.”

    It also noted that Iran wants all sanctions initially lifted as part of the agreement but reimposed by Trump, along with an estimated 1,500 new measures his administration adopted as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign, to be removed.

    Iran has made it clear that it wants all U.S. sanctions to be lifted but it said the lifting of the sanctions should be done all at once, thus ruling out any gradual or sequential steps.

    The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has stated that Iran has a definite nuclear policy that will guide Iranian negotiators.

    “The country’s policy on the interaction with the JCPOA sides and on the nuclear deal itself has already been explicitly declared. This policy will not be violated in any way. It is a policy which has already been announced and which is adopted with everyone’s agreement. It is not the case that this policy was an exception to other policies. Everyone has agreed to it,” the Leader said in a televised speech on March 21.

    “This policy is that the Americans should lift all sanctions. After that, we will verify. If the sanctions have been lifted, we will return to our JCPOA commitments. We will return without any problem. This is a definite policy. We do not consider American promises to be valid. If they say that they will lift them on paper, this is of no use. What is necessary is action! They should lift the sanctions in practice. Subsequently, we will verify their statements to make sure that the sanctions have been lifted. Then, we will resume our commitments,” he continued.

    This position is of particular importance given the fact the Vienna nuclear deal talks have reached a point where the negotiators need to make decisions. Following the Tuesday meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, top Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Abbas Araghchi said negotiating teams will return to their capitals and then resume their work next week.

    So it’s quite possible that the Iranian team will brief high-level officials on the outcome of the recent rounds of the Vienna talks. Araghchi said the Iranian negotiating team reports on the status of the talks to senior officials on a regular basis and that the fate of talks will be determined in Tehran.
    But Tehran is clear about what wants. The Leader made it crystal clear that the U.S. must lift its sanctions first and then Iran will return to commitments after verifying the lifting of sanctions.

    Therefore, the Iranian delegation is likely to return to Vienna next week with the determination that the definite policy outlined by the Leader should be implemented.

    It’s too early to say that this policy is going to lead the Vienna negotiation to the endgame, which is the lifting of the U.S. sanctions all at once. But indications from Vienna suggest that the talks may be moving toward that goal.

    So far, the Vienna talks have resulted in the establishment of two expert-level working groups, one to identify the sanctions that the U.S. should remove in order to return to the JCPOA, and another to specify the nuclear activities that Iran should reverse. These groups report their discussions to the Joint Commission.

    Following the Tuesday meeting, Araghchi said the remaining parties to the JCPOA have decided to establish a third expert-level group next week to discuss practical arrangements required to lift the U.S. sanctions and realize the U.S. return to the JCPOA.

    However, the top nuclear negotiator warned that Iran will stop the Vienna talks if the process of discussions tilts toward bullying, bargaining, and wasting time.

    Araghchi described the Tuesday talks as “difficult and challenging” but said they are moving forward.

    During the meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, Araghchi said, the negotiators discussed the latest technical talks, preliminary drafts, and how to continue the talks. "

    Definite policy - Tehran Times
    Last edited by OhOh; 21-04-2021 at 01:29 PM.

  9. #59
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Yes, still negotiating. I'll let you know when they're done.

  10. #60
    Thailand Expat
    Klondyke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Last Online
    26-09-2021 @ 10:28 PM
    Posts
    10,105
    (surprise, surprise...)

    U.S. to Israel: Iran attacks intefering with nuclear deal efforts

    Biden administration said to be unhappy with Israeli 'boasting' about incidents that Tehran says prompted it to increase uranium enrichment; Mossad chief, national security adviser to head to U.S. in coming weeks for talks on issue

    Published: 04.18.21 , 12:26

    Washington has informed Jerusalem of its displeasure over recent attacks against Iranian targets attributed to Israel, as well as what it called “boasting” by Israel regarding these incidents, sources said.

    The Biden administration believes that the recent attack on the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz, which was attributed to Israel, and Iran's retaliatory decision to enrich uranium up to 60% could torpedo ongoing negotiations aimed at restoring the 2015 pact to curb Tehran's nuclear aspirations.

    U.S. to Israel: Iran attacks intefering with nuclear deal efforts

  11. #61
    Thailand Expat russellsimpson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    26-03-2024 @ 05:23 AM
    Location
    vancouver
    Posts
    1,785
    ^I wouldn't make too much of this.

    I think we are still awaiting some statement vis-ŕ-vis where American foreign policy is going with regard to Israel.

    Israel is America's most reliable partner in that neck of the woods and I don't expect to see that change anytime soon.
    A true diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a manner that you will be asking for directions.

  12. #62
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Last Online
    Today @ 03:24 PM
    Posts
    18,509
    Is it possible to move this thread to where it belongs in the world news. It's a tiresome, boring piece of septic orientated shite wholly inappropriate to a Thaicentric/SE Asian forum.

  13. #63
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Quote Originally Posted by russellsimpson View Post
    Israel is America's most reliable partner


    Surely it's, "Ameristan is Israel's most reliable funder, weapons source, easily/cheapest purchasable politicians source , tame UNSC veto wielding vote holder ...."?

    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    wholly inappropriate to a Thaicentric/SE Asian forum.
    The thread topic is situated in Asia. The current negatiations are regarding Iran, an Asian country.

    This forum section is entitled:
    "Thailand and Asia News



    The News Forum. Thai News, world News and current affairs. Find out what's happening in the world today."

    This is only my opinion. The TD mods interpret TD "RULES".
    Last edited by OhOh; 22-04-2021 at 12:29 PM.

  14. #64
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Is it possible to move this thread to where it belongs in the world news. It's a tiresome, boring piece of septic orientated shite wholly inappropriate to a Thaicentric/SE Asian forum.
    Perhaps when they move Iran out of Asia, you blithering idiot.

  15. #65
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Last Online
    Today @ 03:24 PM
    Posts
    18,509
    Fucking Turkey is mostly Asia but we don't discuss the Turco-Kurd conflict in Diyarbakir you dunderhead mazoo.

    And I don't recall the doings of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or fucking Jordan exercising your pea brain in this forum.

    The point is, when they titled the forum back in the day the idiot responsible meant to state SE Asia but fucked it up.

    Typically, the pedants here fail to take the point.

  16. #66
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Fucking Turkey is mostly Asia but we don't discuss the Turco-Kurd conflict in Diyarbakir you dunderhead mazoo.

    And I don't recall the doings of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or fucking Jordan exercising your pea brain in this forum.

    The point is, when they titled the forum back in the day the idiot responsible meant to state SE Asia but fucked it up.

    Typically, the pedants here fail to take the point.

    Yeah, when you own TD, you can rename it, OK?

    Until then, sit on your balcony, watch the turds float past and STFU.

  17. #67
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    the idiot responsible meant to state SE Asia
    If true the current owners, if they desire it, can modify the title.

    In time your days will not be wasted reading and replying to topics which intrude into your own Thai bubble.
    Last edited by OhOh; 22-04-2021 at 09:25 PM.

  18. #68
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Briefing with Senior State Department Official On Recent U.S. Engagement in Vienna Regarding the JCPOA

    Special Briefing

    Via Teleconference
    April 21, 2021

    Briefing with Senior State Department Official On Recent U.S. Engagement in Vienna Regarding the JCPOA - United States Department of State



    Just one question and answer from the briefing. There are many more.

    "MODERATOR:

    Yes, go ahead.

    QUESTION:


    Okay. The Iranians were saying that they’re insisting on getting a written guarantee from the U.S. that a future administration will not abandon the deal. How does that look to you and is this negotiable? They’re also insisting on having some time to verify sanctions relief before they decrease enriching uranium or turn the switch off. How does that look? That would – at least the optics of it would seem like the U.S. is returning first.

    SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:


    So thanks, Farnaz. So on the question of a written guarantee, I think it’s clear there is no such thing as a guarantee. This is a political understanding in which – and it was clear at the time of the JCPOA that it is the sovereign right of all participants to decide whether they want to maintain their participation or not. We – I think the Biden administration, if it decides – if it reaches an understanding with Iran and the other P5+1 to come back into compliance with the deal, it would be with the intent of acting in good faith and not of departing the deal for no good – for no good reason.

    But there is no such thing as a guarantee and I think, again, we have made that clear to Iran that it’s not something that the U.S. can or will give. This is a political understanding that relies on the good faith of all actors.

    Iran has the experience, and understandably a – not a very pleasant one, of the U.S. withdrawing unilaterally from the deal, but certainly the Biden administration’s intent if it were to come back into compliance would be to act in good faith if Iran did the same.

    As for verifying the sanctions, I mean, if – as we’ve said, if Iran’s position is that the United States needs to lift all sanctions to come back into compliance, then Iran would verify that only then would Iran take action. That’s not a sequence that we could accept and, frankly, I don’t think it’s a sequence that the other participants in the JCPOA believes is a reasonable one.

    There are many other forms of sequencing that one could discuss, and we’re open to that, but we’re not going to accept a process in which the U.S. acts first and removes all of the sanctions that it is committed to removing before Iran does anything."

    Agreement incapable, as some have suggested or:

    Statement by the JCPOA-zhou-enlai-jpg




  19. #69
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    So, to summarise: Still negotiating.

  20. #70
    Thailand Expat
    Klondyke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Last Online
    26-09-2021 @ 10:28 PM
    Posts
    10,105
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    So, to summarise: Still negotiating.
    yawn...

  21. #71
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Iran, Russia intensify consultations as nuclear talks kick off

    April 27, 2021 - 20:43

    "TEHRAN – The Russian Federation has played a constructive role in the nuclear negotiations leading to the signing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Even after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the deal Russia continued to play that role. Russia is a signatory to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) along with other remaining signatories such as China, France, Germany, Iran, and the UK. The United States also was a party to the deal but it withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, imposing far-reaching sanctions on Iran.

    Russia paved the way for Iran and the West to implement the nuclear deal. For instance, it was Russia that facilitated the transfer of Iran’s enriched uranium outside of the country. In December 2015, Iran announced that it successfully transferred 11 tons of its enriched uranium to Russia, a move that helped Iran implement the JCPOA.


    Following Trump’s withdrawal, the nuclear deal began teetering on the brink of total collapse as the United States deprived Iran of the economic benefits promised in the nuclear deal. Russia, as a responsible party to the JCPOA, unequivocally condemned the U.S. non-compliance with the JCPOA and, at some point, it even sought to soothe tensions between Tehran and Washington when the three European signatories to the JCPOA -France, Germany, and the UK- were blandly issuing political statements calling on the U.S. to stop efforts aimed at killing the nuclear deal.

    The Russian efforts to save the JCPOA were done despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin had famously said on May 15, 2019, that he was no longer willing to play the role of firefighter to extinguish the fire the Americans lit by withdrawing from the JCPOA.
    “We regret that the deal is falling apart… After the signing of the agreement Iran was and still is the world's most verifiable and transparent country in this sense… Iran is fulfilling all of its obligations… Russia is not a fire brigade. We cannot rescue everything that does not fully depend on us. We've played our part,” Putin said at the time.

    A year later, Putin appeared to be assuming a new role in preventing a total collapse of the deal after he received an “important message” from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on July 21. The message was delivered by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. At the end of his visit, Zarif said in a tweet that he “delivered an important message to President Putin,” and held “extensive talks” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global coordination. According to Zarif, Iran and Russia had “identical views” on the nuclear deal.
    Two days after Zarif’s visit, President Putin and his American counterpart then-President Trump “thoroughly” discussed several “issues of strategic stability”, including Iran’s nuclear program, in a telephone call. “The situation with the Iranian nuclear program was touched on. Both sides emphasized the need for a collective effort to maintain regional stability and the global nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Kremlin said in a statement after the call, which was described by Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, as “very encouraging.”

    In the meantime, Russian strongly supported Iran during its showdown with the Trump administration over the expiration of the UN arms embargo against Tehran, which the previous U.S. administration worked its butt off to extend but failed to do so.
    Russia continued to defend the JCPOA after Joe Biden come into power. Russian officials highlighted the failure of the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign launched by the Trump administration against Iran.

    “Why do almost all countries support the restoration of JCPOA? Because it is a key element of the international non-proliferation architecture. The deal, if restored, can provide credible assurances of the peaceful character of the Iranian nuclear program via intrusive IAEA verification,” Ulyanov tweeted last week.
    He added, “Some people oppose JCPOA restoration. But is there a realistic alternative? No. Maximum pressure policy totally failed and just prompted the development of the Iranian nuclear program beyond 2015 parameters. This is a matter of fact. Does anybody want this trend to continue?”

    Highlighting the failure of the U.S. economic pressure has been a remarkable position with which Russia put diplomatic pressure on Washington to encourage policy reconsideration on Iran.
    “Some people can’t draw lessons from the mistakes of the past. Do we need further evidence to recognize the total failure of the maximum pressure policy? Did ‘Pompeo’s 12 points’ materialize? The arguments of opponents of the JCPOA can’t be taken seriously,” Ulyanov wrote on Twitter in mid-March.

    Now that Iran and the P4+1 have resumed nuclear talks, Russia also tries to positively influence the talks. Iran has appreciated this role by intensifying consultations with the Russians. On Tuesday, top Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a trilateral meeting with the Russian and Chinese envoys to the talks. The meeting was held hours before another meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, indicating the importance Iran attaches to consultations with the Russians and the Chinese.

    Ulyanov, who represented Russia in the trilateral meeting, described it as “very fruitful.”
    “We compared notes and exchanged views on the way ahead towards full restoration of the nuclear deal. It was a very fruitful meeting,” he tweeted on Tuesday.On the other hand, Araghchi underlined the shared views of Iran, Russia, and China on the nuclear talks.

    “The heads of delegations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russia, and China stressed the common ground of the three delegations and the need for continued consultation and serious coordination between the three countries in these negotiations,” the Iranian nuclear negotiator said in a statement after the trilateral meeting."

    Iran, Russia intensify consultations as nuclear talks kick off - Tehran Times

  22. #72
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Iran, P4+1 agree to expedite the process to restore JCPOA

    April 27, 2021 - 19:15

    "TEHRAN — The new round of the JCPOA Joint Commission meeting began on Tuesday and ended in a positive manner, with all sides agreeing to expedite the process of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. At the meeting, the negotiators decided to continue expert group meetings in the two areas of lifting sanctions and the nuclear measures required to be taken by Iran in an “intensive and rapid” way.

    It was also decided to set up a third expert group called the "executive arrangements expert group" to discuss practical arrangements needed to implement the process of lifting of sanctions and then the return of the United States to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

    Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian delegate and Russia’s ambassador to Vienna tweeted, “The discussions proved that participants are guided by the unity of purpose which is full restoration of the nuclear deal in its original form. It was decided to expedite the process.”

    The Iranian delegate did not stop its active diplomacy and held two separate meetings before the Joint Commission meeting on Tuesday.

    First, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top negotiator, and his team met with their Russian and Chinese counterparts, a meeting described by the top Russian negotiator as “fruitful”.

    ISNA reported that the three delegates called for the immediate lifting of the U.S. sanctions as a necessary condition for Washington to return to the JCPOA.


    Another meeting was held between the Iranian delegate and the E3 (France, Germany and the United Kingdom).


    It is expected that the Joint Commission would reconvene in the coming days. "

    Iran, P4+1 agree to expedite the process to restore JCPOA - Tehran Times

  23. #73
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    So, let me take a swing: Still negotiating?

  24. #74
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 07:03 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,222
    Here we go again

    May 30, 2021 - 21:10

    "TEHRAN – As the Vienna nuclear talks go forward the Biden administration intensifies its efforts to maintain the sanctions that the previous U.S. administration imposed on Iran in clear violation of its promise to change tack on Iran.

    In late January, when the Biden administration was considering appointing Rob Malley as special envoy on Iran, the Tehran Times published a report saying the kerfuffle over his appointment was gratuitous as Malley was not going to change the deeply institutionalized American hostility toward Iran.

    Now that the Vienna talks have entered a determining phase, the prediction of the Tehran Times proved right because Malley is now striving to wheedle more concessions out of Iran’s negotiating team in exchange for nothing.

    The U.S. negotiating team at the Vienna talks has presented maximalist demands and offered minimalist concessions, according to press reports. This approach has so far been rejected by Iran, indicating that the current round of talks may not be enough for both sides of the negotiations to bridge the gap between their positions.

    The U.S. has agreed to lift half of the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration while it continues to reject the lifting of all the sanctions, which stands at 1,500, according to a report published by Al Araby Al Jadeed newspaper. Citing Iranian sources familiar with the matter, the newspaper said lifting the nuclear-related sanctions did not constitute a major obstacle to the negotiations, as Washington affirms its readiness to lift the sanctions that include the most important Iranian economic sectors, but Iran believes that lifting these sanctions alone is useless, as they include basic sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors, which were re-sanctioned under counterterrorism authorities.

    According to Al Araby Al Jadeed, the U.S. administration continued to cling to the sanctions related to combating terrorism, alleged human rights violations and the missile program during the first three rounds, but it showed flexibility during the fourth round regarding some of the sanctions related to combating terrorism, which constituted an important breakthrough in the negotiations.

    The U.S. also declared its readiness to “suspend” sanctions imposed on oil and the Central Bank of Iran, which the previous U.S. administration sanctioned under The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) passed by Congress in August 2017.

    In line with CAATSA, the U.S. administration once again imposed sanctions on major Iranian economic sectors, such as the Central Bank, the National Development Fund, the National Oil Company and the National Iranian Tanker Co, under the pretext of their links to the Iranian Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), which was designated by Washington as a “terrorist organization” in 2019.

    While this kind of sanctions was basically meant to make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Biden administration to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Biden administration’s negotiating team at the Vienna talks proposed only a “suspension” of sanctions not lifting them. They justified this proposal by complaining that the U.S. president lacked the necessary legal authority to lift the CAATSA-related or Congress-led sanctions, according to the Qatari newspaper.

    Al Araby Al Jadeed said the suspension of this type of sanctions, - counterterrorism sanctions- is subject to timetables of up to six months, and that the continuation of the lifting of the sanctions would be subject to renewal every six months, something that aroused fears in Iran that this renewal would be used by the U.S. as leverage to impose pressure on Iran.

    Article 112 of CAATSA stipulates that the U.S. president can suspend sanctions for a period of 180 days by notifying Congress that the suspension of sanctions is based on national security reasons. That means that even the lifting of half of the sanctions would be temporary and not perpetual. In addition, the U.S. has refused to remove sanctions on the IRGC.

    The U.S. linked the lifting of all sanctions to discussing all issues, according to Al Araby Al Jadeed. In addition to the issue of sanctions, the U.S. also sought to extract new concessions from Iran in terms of nuclear research activities. Al Araby Al Jadeed said the U.S. wanted Iran to “destroy” the advanced centrifuges it installed at Fordow and Natanz after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA because the Americans believe that Iran went too far in developing its nuclear capabilities.

    Furthermore, the U.S. also demanded a prolongation of the JCPOA’s sunset clauses in an attempt to achieve what the Trump administration failed to achieve through multi-pronged pressures. Among these clauses is a restriction on the procurement of dual-use goods and equipment.

    The most diplomatically explosive part of the Al Araby Al Jadeed report is the U.S. refusal to lift an arms embargo on Iran that expired in October 2020 in accordance with the JCPOA. The sources told the newspaper that Washington refused to cancel the arms embargo on Tehran, which ended under the nuclear agreement on October 18, 2020. Instead, the Biden administration expressed a desire to maintain the arms embargo by adhering to the executive order issued by Trump regarding the continuation of this ban.

    That the Biden administration wants to extract more concessions from Iran by using the Trump-era sanctions is not surprising. What is surprising and amounts to political chutzpah is that the diplomats – such as Wendy Sherman and Rob Malley- who negotiated the JCPOA in the first place now refuse to implement what this deal stipulates concerning the end of the arms embargo."

    Here we go again - Tehran Times

  25. #75
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,552
    Sounds to me like they're still negotiating.

Page 3 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •