DUBAI / NEW YORK (Reuters) – The fate of a fragile 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers depends on the final results of the US presidential election in November, a U. S. offer planned this week to bring back all UN sanctions opposed to Tehran, several Iranian officials said.
When Iran agreed to relief sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program, Tehran warned that it would no longer accede to the agreement if one of the parties triggered an alleged resumption of sanctions in the UN Security Council, a protection included in the agreement should Iran fail to comply.
U. S. President Donald Trump’s administration plans this week to use the takeover provision, even though it defected from the agreement in 2018 and the resolution is opposed through the other parts of the agreement: Germany, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Iran.
But despite what happened in Tehran five years ago, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iranian leaders were determined to remain committed to the nuclear deal, hoping that a victory by Trump’s political rival, Joe BidenArray, in the November 3 presidential election, would save the pact.
“For now, the resolution is in agreement even if americans make their biggest mistake in activating the recovery mechanism,” said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who is concerned about discussions about Iran’s nuclear policy.
“We’ll still be here, but Trump may not be in the White House in a few months,” the official said.
Biden said he would sign the nuclear deal, but only if Iran returns to compliance first. The agreement was approved through the leadership of former US President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president.
One moment, an Iranian official, a former nuclear negotiator, said Iran is “technically and politically” in a position to resign.
“But we will have to be cautious and not fall into the American trap that should get Iran out of the agreement,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“NICE PLACE TO STAY”
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, described the coming weeks and months as for the nuclear deal.
To provoke a setback if all United Nations sanctions oppose Iran, the United States files a complaint with the 15-member Security Council about Iran’s non-compliance with the nuclear deal.
In reaction to what Washington calls its “maximum pressure” crusade, one to get Iran to negotiate a new deal, Tehran has crossed several central limits of the 2015 agreement, adding its enriched uranium arsenal.
But diplomats say the recovery procedure will be complicated and confusing, as Russia, China, and other countries on the Security Council defy the legality of the U. S. resolution, as Washington no longer complies with what Trump called “the worst deal of all time” and imposed unilateral strong sanctions opposed to Iran.
A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US resolve to overturn all UN sanctions would threaten to “destroy” the nuclear agreement, but “it will be an absolutely challenged procedure, so the setback will have no effect. “will be identified through others. “
The United States argues that it can cause sanctions to be rolled back because it is still designated as a player in the nuclear agreement in a 2015 UN Security Council solution enshrining the agreement.
A European diplomatic moment, speaking under anonymity, said that “the overwhelming majority of the foreign community” believed that the United States could lead to a recovery.
Outgoing U. S. envoy for Iran Brian Hook said Tuesday that the well-intentioned nuclear deal failed to deter Iran.
“We’ve put a massive lever in position for a period of time (Trump) to get the kind of effects we need,” he once said organized by the United Expert Group against Nuclear Iran.
(Additional report via Sabine Siebold; written through Michelle Nichols; edited through Alistair Bell)
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