Reaching N-Deal with P5+1 before November 24 Possible

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed optimism over the conclusion of a final nuclear agreement between Iran and the Sextet of world powers before their interim deal expires late November.

“If the other parties to the nuclear talks are prepared to make a tough decision, it is possible to reach a comprehensive deal even before November 24,” Zarif said.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said any deal between Iran and the P5+1 on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program is much better than no agreement at all.

“I still believe that's a possibility. The only problem is how this could be presented to some domestic constituencies — primarily in the United States, but even in places in Europe — that could please them, or some may say could appease them because some of them are not interested in any deal,” Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister added that "no amount of assurance" would satisfy those opposed to any agreement, because, "they're not interested in a deal, period. And they'll try to use excuses to kill a deal."

“But I think if you compare any deal with a no deal, it's clear that a deal is much preferable,” the Iranian foreign minister added.

Elsewhere, the Iranian diplomat said that the illegal sanctions imposed against Iran have been ineffective and Iran has gained a lot from the sanctions.

“If the United States believes that sanctions have been so effective, then it should answer the question…Have they achieved any of the policy goals that they intended to achieve?”

Zarif further said the goal of the sanctions “was to push Iran into abandoning its nuclear program….However, If at the time of the imposition of sanctions, we had less than a couple of hundred centrifuges, now we have about 20,000. So that's the net outcome.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister said any final agreement between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 over Tehran's nuclear energy program requires hard decisions.

Zarif expressed optimism over the clinching of a final nuclear deal with the six world powers, but stressed that it would require a lot of work and a lot of hard discussions.

“It’s going to be a very tough discussion because we have tough decisions that everybody needs to make in order to move this process forward,” he said.

He, however, said that a final deal was possible if there was genuine will to reach an agreement.

“We believe it is possible. We believe that provided that everyone wants to reach a solution, that everybody wants to stick to the agreement that we had in Geneva in November of last year we can, in fact, reach an agreement but it’s going to require a lot of work, a lot of hard decisions,” he said.

Zarif said that Iran has planned bilateral meetings with various members of the P5+1 group. He said that the meetings will take place before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives in New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly meeting. 

Iran’s foreign minister also said the US government has gained nothing but the Iranian nation’s hatred by toughening sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program.

“The only thing that these sanctions have produced is the resentment of the Iranian people that the United States is putting pressure on them. Nothing else,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

He dismissed US officials’ allegations that Iran agreed to negotiate its nuclear energy program with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany under pressure from sanctions, saying, “No sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table. If they say they brought Iran to the negotiating table, I tell them that we were prepared to negotiate.”

Zarif said Iran and the six countries – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany – will definitely reach a permanent deal should Washington “come to the understanding that sanctions are not an asset.”

“There is a deal at hand; within reach. The question is whether the United States will come to the realization that sanctions were a means to an end – in the best case scenario – not an end in themselves,” said the Iranian foreign minister.

He expressed regret that certain US officials continue to view the sanctions as an “extremely important asset for them,” noting that the United States is expected only to “get an agreement that can lead to the removal of sanctions.”

“Obviously, if we resolve the nuclear issue, there will be one less obstacle in reducing tension, at least, between Iran and the United States,” the Iranian foreign minister stated.

Zarif said Iran-US problems are not “inherent or unavoidable,” reiterating that settling the nuclear issue will make the road “less cumbersome” for dealing with other issues.

The Iranian minister reaffirmed Tehran’s argument against development of nuclear weapons and noted that atomic bombs “have not created security for anybody.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said Tehran will not team up with the US in its so-called coalition against Takfiri ISIL militants.

Iran will not team up with the US against the ISIL because “we were not convinced that the United States government was serious” in its claim to fight terrorism, Zarif said.

He also criticized the US Congress plan to finance “moderate Syrian militants” in the fight against the extremists, saying the decision does not correspond with the so-called efforts to fight terrorism.

“You do not fight terrorism by weakening the central government which is the most important element in rejecting and opposing these terrorists. If you undermine the central government in Syria, that would enable the IS (ISIL) terrorists to gain even more territory,” he added.

Touching on the situation in Iraq, Zarif said that the Iraqis themselves are capable of defending their territory.

A deputy to Iran’s foreign minister says the ongoing nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have been constructive.

“In general, a very good atmosphere prevails in the talks,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said.

The senior Iranian nuclear negotiator also stated that differences on some issues exist but the two sides have expressed determination to continue the negotiations.

He expressed optimism that over the next days the two sides manage to sum up some of the existing issues and, if possible, they can make some tangible progress in the talks.

Araqchi pointed to the level of uranium enrichment, activities of Iran’s Arak and Fordow nuclear sites, and the manner in which the anti-Iran sanctions would be removed as some of the major bones of contention.

The senior Iranian official has also reiterated that fight against extremism, currently promoted by the Takfiri ISIL, entails regional cooperation.

"Based on the experiences of the last decade, we believe that any realistic initiative for resolving regional problems should start from within the Middle East region and be based on regional cooperation. Fighting extremism is no exception,” he said.

Araqchi said, “The extremism, which has emerged these days in the form of the ISIL group and their appalling barbarism and abhorrent violence, is among the great threats which have overrun Iraq and Syria and darkened the Middle East’s horizon.”

“We categorically reject the hackneyed act of attaching the name of Islam to the violent and bloody activities, which are carried out by such repulsive groups. This is nothing more than a terrorist organization born out of chaos," the official noted.

*Photo Credit: ISNA