Iran and P5+1 agreed in November 2014 to extend the nuclear talks to June.30. According to the agreement, the sides should reach a political accord in March and reach the comprehensive agreement by self-imposed deadline on June 30.
Responding to a question about the possibility of merging the political and comprehensive agreements technically, the former consultant of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Behrooz Bayat told Trend Feb.11, "in my opinion the main problem is not the issue of technique. It is the issue of politics, particularly the mutual mistrust accumulated over the past 36 years".
The nuclear expert added, "The agreement between Iran and the West is contrary to interests of some certain groups on both sides. In Iran, military and security forces, which are linked with the Supreme Leader, are benefiting from the existing situation both economically and ideologically. In the U.S., the hardliners, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lobbies under his influence, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Arab states are imposing pressure to prevent from reaching a comprehensive deal," he said.
Iran and its Arab neighbors have serious disputes over a various range of issues, including what Arab nations call "the seizure of UAE`s Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands", as well as Iran`s support to Shia militants from Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon to Syria.
A copy of the cable dated April 20, 2008, was published in the New York Times citing the WikiLeaks in November 2010 that quoted late Saudi King Abdullah as calling on American top officials to" cutting off the head of the snake (Iran)".
On the other hand, Netanyahu repeated Feb.10 that he has a "profound disagreement" with the United States and its negotiating partners in talks with Iran to curb the country`s nuclear program, and is keeping his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next month.
Bayat says the recent speech of Iran’s Supreme Leader in a meeting with army commanders indicates that he is supporting to the extent as hinting implicitly at the possibility to accept a stepwise lifting of the sanctions - contrary to his hitherto existing demands. "He has just disagreed with the current process of first reaching a political framework and then agreeing on technical details to reach a deal. However, he has not expressed his disagreement in principle," Bayat added.
The Associated Press reported last week citing unnamed diplomats saying that Iran and the U.S. are negotiating a compromise that would let Iran keep much of its centrifuges but reduce their enrichment potential.
Bayat said, "as far as I know, the report of the Associated Press indicated that Iran is allowed to continue enrichment to a certain level provided that it does not accumulate uranium hexafluoride. This can be done through sending the enriched material to Russia to be turned into fuel rods for Bushehr nuclear plant."
"This way, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani can refer to the continuation of enrichment at the current level as an achievement and silence his opponents on one hand, and remove concerns of the West about possible military uses of Iran’s nuclear program on the other," he added.
More about:
