{"id":58423,"date":"2018-02-09T06:20:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58423"},"modified":"2018-02-09T06:20:23","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:20:23","slug":"iran-says-it-can-discuss-other-issues-if-nuclear-deal-successful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/iran-says-it-can-discuss-other-issues-if-nuclear-deal-successful.html","title":{"rendered":"Iran says it can discuss other issues if nuclear deal successful"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran says it can discuss other issues if nuclear deal successful<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The West must ensure the Iran 2015 nuclear deal succeeds before trying to negotiate other issues, a senior Iranian official said in a rare public suggestion Tehran could discuss matters such as its regional activities or missile program with world powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow they ask Iran to enter discussions on other issues. Our answer is clear: Make the (deal) a successful experience and then we discuss other issues,\u201d Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told a conference in Paris on Thursday, referring to the United States and its European allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear whether Araqchi\u2019s suggestion was in complete alignment with powerful hardliners in the Islamic Republic\u2019s factionalized governing institutions who are intensely suspicious of any talks with the West.<\/span><\/p>\n

Araqchi added that the Iran policy of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration was \u201cdestructive\u201d and violated the terms of the nuclear deal with six world powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Trump warning of a last chance for \u201cthe worst deal ever negotiated\u201d, Britain, France and Germany are working on a plan to satisfy him by addressing Iran\u2019s ballistic missile tests and its regional influence while preserving the 2015 accord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a Euromoney conference in Paris, Araqchi said there was no link between its influence in the Middle East region and the accord, under which Iran restricted its production of enriched uranium – a potential source of nuclear bombs as well as civilian energy – in exchange for a removal of international sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran has repeatedly refused to discuss its missile program as demanded by the United States and the Europeans, saying it is purely defensive in nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Islamic Republic says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and that it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it, but will \u201cshred\u201d the deal if Washington pulls out.<\/span><\/p>\n

BLAME GAME<\/span><\/p>\n

Araqchi dismissed Western assertions that Iran\u2019s regional activities are destabilizing. He accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of fomenting tensions in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always fought against terrorism. Iran has always played a key role in bringing stability and peace to the region … There is no link between the (nuclear) deal and our role in the region,\u201d Araqchi, who was also a senior negotiator in the Iran nuclear talks, told Reuters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s ultimatum has effectively put the deal on life support until mid-May.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking at the same conference, Britain\u2019s Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said European powers were determined to save the agreement and assuage the United States, but he warned that Iran also needed to mitigate Western concerns over its regional activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe and our European partners are absolutely clear. We want the deal to succeed,\u201d Burt said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to see the JCPOA (deal with Iran) go down and are working with our European partners to mitigate concerns the United States may have to ensure it continues.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Negotiations between Europeans and the U.S. officials to meet Trump\u2019s conditions are ongoing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first challenge the Europeans face is dissecting divergent U.S. statements about what Trump wants to keep issuing \u201cwaivers\u201d to U.S. sanctions. Without the waivers, which expire May 12, the U.S. sanctions return, effectively killing the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIran also needs to avoid taking actions which threaten regional security,\u201d Burt said, pointing to claims that Tehran has supplied ballistic missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran has denied those allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country\u2019s almost seven-year-old civil war, Shi\u2018ite Muslim militias in Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIran has always played a key role in establishing peace, restoring security and fighting against terrorism across the region,\u201d Araqchi said. \u201cPolicies of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States have led to crises and wars in the Middle East.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-iran-nuclear-region\/iran-says-it-can-discuss-other-issues-if-nuclear-deal-successful-idUSKBN1FS1HX<\/span><\/p>\n

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