Iran nuclear deal talks held under cloud
IRAN and major powers yesterday took stock of their 2015 nuclear deal, with Donald Trump’s imminent inauguration and the death of a moderate former Iranian president raising worries about its future.
Trump has vowed to dismantle the “disastrous” accord, which saw Iran drastically reduce its atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of painful sanctions.
The death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 82, on Sunday, removed a respected backer in Iran of the deal, at a time when frustration about the slow pace of sanctions relief is growing.
Iranian news agency ISNA described the ayatollah and president from 1989 to 1997 as “the sheikh of moderation”.
Yesterday’s meeting in Vienna – where the deal was struck in July 2015 – brought together senior diplomats from Iran and the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
It is the fourth such gathering to review progress implementing the accord since it came into force in January last year and was requested by Iran in December after US sanctions legislation was renewed for a decade.
US restrictions under the Iran Sanctions Act targeting mostly Tehran’s oil and gas sectors remain suspended but the Islamic republic saw the move as a violation of the nuclear deal.
There is also disappointment in Iran that many of the economic benefits that President Hassan Rouhani, 68, promised would come from the deal had fallen short.
Iran has been able to ramp up its vital oil exports to pre-sanctions levels and signed deals to splurge billions of dollars on dozens of new aircraft made by Airbus and Boeing.
However, its ability to do more business with the outside world is being hampered by US sanctions related to non-nuclear issues such as “terrorism” and missiles remaining in place.
All bets could be off in any case if Trump, who is deeply suspicious of Iran, tears up the agreement.
Trump has not publicly discussed the subject in detail since his election victory in November, but his choice to head the CIA, Mike Pompeo, has made his opinions clear.
“I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” Pompeo tweeted the day before his nomination.