Dispute Over Arms Sanctions Continues Ahead of Agreement with Iran

Reports indicate that Iran and six world powers are on the verge of reaching a historic agreement to end over 12 years of dispute over Tehran's nuclear program during negotiations in Vienna, while disagreements over Iran's arms and missile sanctions remain unresolved. According to Reuters, the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia, along with Germany, have extended the deadline for reaching a comprehensive and long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear program twice in the past two weeks. Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, announced on Thursday, July 9, the possibility of reaching a nuclear agreement in the coming hours. However, the English-language television network 'Press TV', affiliated with Iran's radio and television, reported that an Islamic Republic negotiator stated that reaching an agreement on Thursday is unlikely. Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, met with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Thursday morning. Reports indicate that Salehi said after the meeting, 'God willing, today will be the final day for technical issues.' Moniz also stated, 'If we can, we want to resolve the last technical issues.' At the same time, a Western diplomat told Reuters, 'I have serious doubts that the negotiations will conclude on Thursday.' According to Reuters, one of the unresolved issues is the matter of Iran's arms and missile sanctions. In this context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Moscow demands the lifting of Iran's arms sanctions 'as soon as possible', stating that this would enable the Islamic Republic to participate in the fight against terrorism. On the other hand, a senior Western diplomat described Russia's position on lifting Iran's arms sanctions as 'not new', but noted that world powers are working to resolve the 'difficult issue'. Since the Iranian nuclear case was transferred from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the UN Security Council, the council has adopted six resolutions imposing sanctions against Iran. The arms and missile sanctions are part of the Security Council's sanctions. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapon technology, an accusation that Iran denies. It appears that in a potential agreement, Iran will have to accept limitations on its nuclear program, and in return, the international community will lift sanctions. According to Reuters, reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran would be a historic milestone in ending the hostile relations between Tehran and Washington. Reports also indicate that members of the U.S. negotiating team and John Kerry discussed the latest developments in negotiations with President Barack Obama via video conference on Wednesday night. Sergey Lavrov stated that Iran and the 1+5 group have come very close to a comprehensive nuclear agreement and that no 'insurmountable issues' remain in the negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, stated, 'The discussions being raised and the details being mentioned are over 90% inaccurate, and some are deliberately inflating these news stories.'