Bagheri Kani: There is No Such Thing as a 'Nuclear File'

Following unofficial reports about the nuclear file of Iran being handed over to Ali Shamkhani, Iran's Foreign Minister claimed that there is no such thing as a 'nuclear file.' Ali Bagheri Kani, who was the chief negotiator for nuclear talks with the West under President Ebrahim Raisi, stated on Wednesday, June 9, in an interview with reporters: 'We have no such thing as a file in the nuclear discussion; nuclear activities have been conducted within the framework of the system's measures under the supervision of the Supreme National Security Council, which continues.' This comes as the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on the transfer of responsibility for Iran's nuclear file to Ali Shamkhani and stated: 'I have no specific points to present regarding the indirect claims in some networks.' The nuclear file has been passed around for 20 years, from diplomats to pawns. Bagheri Kani, who was the political deputy of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and was appointed as the acting Foreign Minister after his death in a helicopter crash alongside Ebrahim Raisi, also commented on the recent visit of the Omani Foreign Minister, stating that the parties discussed various regional and international issues, including developments in Gaza. Oman has long been one of the main mediators in direct and indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. Axios reported on May 18, citing 'two informed sources,' that two senior officials in the Biden administration indirectly discussed how to prevent escalation of regional conflicts with Iranian officials in Oman. Without referencing these negotiations, Ali Bagheri Kani announced that 'the exchange of messages with the U.S. continues as before, and there has been no interruption in this process.' The discussion regarding the responsibility for Iran's nuclear file has recently come to the forefront, as Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of Hassan Rouhani's office during his second term, accused Ali Shamkhani of pursuing a line that prevented the revival of the JCPOA in the final years of the twelfth government. He stated: 'Mr. Rouhani personally pursued the JCPOA issue, and it was very clear, but if the secretariat had been aligned, it could have been easily resolved; I can even say that if the secretariat had been aligned, it would have been signed in the twelfth government.' Efforts by Rouhani's government to finalize the JCPOA negotiations at the beginning of Biden's administration failed, and previously, some figures close to the twelfth government and Hassan Rouhani considered the eleventh parliament's legislation effective in this regard. The 'Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions' was approved by the parliament and confirmed by the Guardian Council in December 2020. This law obligated Rouhani's government to begin uranium enrichment to 20% and suspend the implementation of the Additional Protocol amid nuclear negotiations with the West. Vaezi also claimed in an interview with the Etemad newspaper that the former president had several times intended to dismiss Shamkhani, but there was 'no agreement' between Hassan Rouhani and Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on this matter. In response to these statements, the former spokesperson of the Supreme National Security Council stated in an interview with Nournews, a media outlet close to Shamkhani, that responding to Vaezi's remarks 'requires disclosing issues that cannot currently be explained due to their connection to national security.' Keyvan Khosravi added without further details that Ali Shamkhani has 'a lot to say' about the nuclear file and the JCPOA, which he claims can clarify 'services and betrayals.' Ali Shamkhani was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for ten years until last June and was Khamenei's representative in this council. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a commander of the Revolutionary Guards, has held this position since then. Some social media users have written that Shamkhani has been responsible for this file since Farvardin (March-April) and that his name being mentioned recently is not unrelated to the upcoming presidential elections following Raisi's death. Kanani refrained from commenting on 'Shamkhani's role in the nuclear file.'