Iran Denies Nuclear Agreement with the United States

Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, denied any agreement regarding the topics under negotiation in the Islamic Republic's nuclear file. The state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, January 13, her remarks in response to an Associated Press report stating that 'no agreement has yet been reached on any of the nuclear negotiation topics.' The Foreign Ministry spokesperson added, 'Such media fabrications are made with specific political purposes, and their main goal is to undermine the negotiation atmosphere and complicate the resolution of issues.' The Fars news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also published on Saturday the comments of 'an informed source' who described the agreement between Iran and the U.S. under which Tehran would transfer its nuclear materials to Russia as 'ridiculous and a malicious media fabrication.' On Friday, January 12, the Associated Press reported, citing 'diplomats,' that Iran and the U.S. had temporarily agreed on a formula under which Tehran would transfer a significant portion of its enriched uranium, which could be used in 'the construction of nuclear weapons,' to Russia. The report even added that Iran and the U.S. were still discussing the amount of enriched uranium to be transferred to Russia. This comes as one of the major points of contention between the parties in the nuclear negotiations is the enrichment capacity and the enriched uranium in Iran, which the West claims could be used in the construction of nuclear weapons; something Tehran has consistently denied pursuing. The next round of nuclear negotiations involving Iran, the U.S., France, Britain, China, Russia, and Germany is scheduled for January 15 (25th of Dey) at the deputy foreign ministers' level. In addition to the enriched uranium issue, the number of centrifuges in Iran is also a point of contention between the parties. The Associated Press reports that the U.S. is demanding to reduce their number by at least half, to 4,500 units, while Iran agrees only to a 20% reduction, bringing them to 8,000 machines. Another issue that Iran insists on is 'the lifting of all sanctions.' In this context, the transfer of $490 million from Iran's blocked assets to the Central Bank of Iran is seen as contrary to the Geneva agreement regarding the expansion of the U.S. sanctions list, which has 'sufficient support' for intensifying sanctions against Iran in the new U.S. Congress.