A leaked audio file of what appears to be a meeting with Iran’s chief negotiator included details of a potential deal to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement [File: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]
According to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic about the proposed accord’s specifics and suggested that there is broad consensus among all parties, a European plan to reinstate the 2015 nuclear agreement between Western nations and Iran looks to be gathering steam.
Several signatories, including China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as officials in Tehran and Washington, the latter of which unilaterally ended the agreement in 2018, have expressed cautious optimism that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) can be revived soon.
It comes after months of sometimes rocky negotiations, which have stalled several times.
What does the potential deal look like?
If an agreement is reached, the JCPOA will be revived in four phases over two 60-day periods, sources told Al Jazeera Arabic.
Media outlets inside and outside Iran on Friday published details of a potential agreement that appear to come from a leaked audio file of a meeting with chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.
According to the unconfirmed reports, some 150 Iranian financial entities and 17 banks will be removed from the sanctions list on the day the agreement is finalised, and Iran will start immediately but gradually rolling back its nuclear advances.
Moreover, $7bn worth of Iranian assets frozen by South Korea will be released, while Iran will gain two and a half years of guaranteed US sanctions relief, which equates to a total of five and a half years even if a Republican wins office in 2024, as President Joe Biden has committed to stay in a restored deal.
CNN and others have reported that Iran has abandoned its demand to take the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) off a US “terror” list as part of the agreement, instead agreeing to discuss the issue later.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest the text of the agreement could contain a clause stipulating that if Iran cooperates with the IAEA, signatories will move to kill an open-ended inquiry into traces of man-made nuclear material found at several Iranian sites in 2019. Ending the inquiry has been a major Iranian demand.
RELATED: Report: Israel hoping progress in Iran nuclear talks ‘is reversible’
After Tehran drops demand on IRGC delisting, Israeli official tells news site that negotiations have been further along in past but Tehran ‘suddenly’ showing willingness for deal
Iranian deputy foreign minister Reza Najafi, left, and Iranian AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, right, are leaving the Palais Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks take place in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. A new round of talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) began in Vienna on Thursday. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter)
As discussions between world powers and Tehran appeared to be progressing on Saturday, an Israeli official expressed optimism that ongoing efforts to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will not eventually result in an agreement.
The unnamed official claimed that although the nuclear talks had previously been further forward, Iran is now “suddenly” showing signs of being open to a deal.
“Iranians don’t work very quickly. We are hopeful that a change may be made,” the official was cited as adding.
The person continued, “If they reach a settlement, we’ll attempt to maximize the accomplishments [for Israel] inside the accord.”
The official also said that if the agreement was extended, it would serve as “evidence” that former US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it in 2018—a decision supported by Israel—was a mistake “without a plan B.”
“Ultimately we’ll end up with an even worse deal,” the official said.
The comments were made following a senior US official’s confirmation to The Times of Israel that Iran dropped its “red line” demand that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be taken off a terror blacklist. The remarks came amid reports that the two countries are close to reaching an agreement on a joint US-Iranian return to compliance with the 2015 agreement.
What kind of a problem would need FAKE and manipulated documentation?
Look at all these “Climate Agreements.” We continue to lose money, prosperity and freedom while the CO2 level continue to increase, when do we say enough??
