Iran wants stronger guarantees for N-deal

MOSCOW: Iran wants stronger guarantees included in a text put forward by the EU aiming to salvage Tehran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday.

"We are thinking about how to reach a strong text on the issue of the guarantee, and to obtain stronger guarantees," he told a joint news conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

"My colleagues are carefully examining the text of the American side," Amir-Abdollahian said of Washington’s response to Tehran’s suggestions on the EU text that was submitted on August 8.

"We want to reinforce in the text the idea that the International Atomic Energy Agency concentrates on its technical task and moves away from its political role," he said. The United States had been adamant that Tehran cooperate with the IAEA to clear up suspicions about earlier work at three undeclared sites.

In June, the IAEA’s board of governors adopted a resolution censuring Iran for failing to adequately explain the previous discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three sites not declared by Tehran as having hosted nuclear activities.

On Monday, President Ebrahim Raisi said reviving the atomic deal would be pointless unless the UN nuclear watchdog put an end to its probe of three undeclared sites in the Islamic republic.

The 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the agreement aimed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do. But the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal under then president Donald Trump in 2018 and proceeded to reimpose biting sanctions, prompting Tehran to pull back from its own commitments.

Last week, amid rising hopes of a revived deal, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in an interview with CNN rejected the idea of the agency closing its probe on the undeclared sites without receiving answers.

"When it comes to guarantees, resolving outstanding issues related to the IAEA is also of serious concern to us," Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday. "If we can reinforce the existing text, reaching an agreement will not be far from being achieved," he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid discussed Iran’s nuclear deal with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, as the Jewish state makes concerted efforts to block a return to the 2015 accord.

With momentum building to revive the nuclear deal, Israel has waged a last-minute offensive to convince allies to halt talks. This campaign has seen its defence minister and security adviser both visit Washington, and its spy chief is due to do so next week.

Lapid and Biden "spoke at length about the negotiations on a nuclear agreement, and the various efforts to stop Iran’s progress towards a nuclear weapon", a statement from the premier’s office said.

The two also discussed regional developments including "Iran’s terrorist activity in the Middle East and beyond", the statement added. "In this context, the Prime Minister commended the President on the United States’ most recent strikes in Syria."

Last week US forces launched air and artillery strikes in eastern Syria that killed four militants. Biden later said the strikes aimed "to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities".

During Wednesday’s call, Biden "emphasised his deep commitment to the security of the State of Israel, and to preserving its ability to face any enemy or threat", the Israeli statement said.

Israel has long opposed a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that would grant its arch-nemesis Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. Lapid told journalists last week that the existing agreement "is a bad deal".