Iran's foreign minister said on Friday that he was ready to travel to Vienna "immediately" to sign a deal with the US to resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal, but only if western negotiators agreed to address Tehran's outstanding demands.
Hossein Amirabdollahian's remarks came as western sources said they were getting closer to reaching an accord during indirect discussions in Vienna between Tehran and the Biden administration. They are, however, urging Iran to agree on final matters fast after 11 months of negotiations in order to rescue the agreement that was abandoned by then-US President Donald Trump.
"We are ready to finalize a decent agreement right away... but the western parties' haste to reach a deal will not prevent Iran from sticking to its red lines," he said.
According to Iran's foreign ministry, Amirabdollahian informed the EU. "I am prepared to travel to Vienna as soon as western parties agree to adhere to our remaining red lines," he said.
Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China are among the deal's signatories. Because of Iran's nuclear advances, which include enriching uranium close to weapons-grade, Western officials have been warning for weeks that time is running out to rescue the deal. Tehran, on the other hand, has stated that no agreement would be reached at any cost and that it will not be rushed.
On Thursday, a representative for the US State Department claimed the discussions had made "great progress," adding that "if Iran demonstrates sincerity, we may and should reach an understanding of mutual return to full implementation" of the agreement "within days."
She did caution, however, that "a number of challenging issues remain unresolved." Stephanie al-Qaq, a senior British diplomat in the talks, said on Friday that "we are close" to a settlement and that European officials were leaving Vienna short to brief their ministers.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, was set to visit Tehran on Saturday to tackle one of the issues impeding progress in the talks: a disagreement over the UN's nuclear watchdog's blocked investigation into traces of uranium found at ancient, undeclared locations.
Tehran wants the investigation to be completed, but Grossi warned last week that if there are unresolved issues with the IAEA, "people cannot anticipate a return" to the nuclear deal.
Tehran's demands that the Biden administration provide guarantees that no future US president can unilaterally exit the deal are also major sticking issues. When Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018 and slapped hundreds of penalties on Iran, the crisis erupted.
According to diplomats and commentators, President Joe Biden will be unable to provide the guarantees that Tehran is asking, although negotiators have been working on some form of reassurance.
There is also dispute over which US sanctions would be withdrawn if Iran's nuclear activities was reduced to agreed-upon levels. Tehran wants all Trump-era sanctions repealed, not just economic ones, including those connected to alleged human rights violations, regional activity, and terrorist claims.
Trump placed sanctions on scores of key Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi and the office of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, before he took office last year. He also declared the Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist group.
Iran would be able to increase its oil exports if a deal is reached, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed crude prices to decade-highs, with prices above $100 a barrel.
Iran is thought to be selling roughly 1 million barrels of crude per day, but the oil minister, Javad Owji, was cited this week as stating that if sanctions are repealed, the Islamic republic could reach its "maximum oil production potential in less than two months." Iran's oil exports peaked at roughly 2.5 million barrels a day before Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal.
However, analysts warn that the Ukraine crisis and rising energy costs could encourage Tehran to believe that its negotiation position has strengthened.
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