Iraqi: As We Get Closer to Details, Differences Increase

Abbas Araqchi, a member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, stated after talks with the deputies of the foreign ministers of three European countries on Thursday evening that "the closer we get to the details, the more disagreements arise." The Iranian negotiation team, led by Abbas Araqchi, met in Istanbul on Thursday, February 9, with their counterparts Hans Dieter Lucas from Germany, Simon Gass from Britain, and Nicolas Durivier from France. According to the state news agency IRNA, Araqchi likened the negotiations with the six countries, which he said "essentially do not have uniform positions," to a "marathon," adding: "the closer we get to the details, the more disagreements arise, and reaching a unified negotiation logic requires a lot of work." He also described the negotiation conditions as "hopeful" and announced efforts to reach a "preliminary political agreement" by March. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, had said on January 18 that "the negotiations have become complicated, and we have entered the details." These statements from Iranian officials come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on January 26 that a "final nuclear agreement may be reached between Iran and the powers in the coming weeks," but this agreement (from Israel's perspective) would be "bad" and "unacceptable." Iran and the six world powers, which reached a six-month nuclear agreement last December, have so far extended the interim Geneva agreement twice due to the lack of a comprehensive nuclear understanding. It has been agreed that the parties will reach a "political agreement" by March and a final nuclear agreement by July 1. Araqchi assessed Thursday's talks with the three European countries as "very useful" but also stated: "Although we are still not in a position to say we have made progress. It is still too early to judge this matter." He added: "We are witnessing seriousness in the negotiations; there is an agreement, but the will to make tough decisions is, in itself, difficult." The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized: "If the negotiations are accompanied by realism and goodwill, we believe that reaching an agreement is not far off." Mohammad Javad Zarif had emphasized on December 29 that he has not yet seen signs of political will from the Western side to reach an agreement. On the same day, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated: "The distances between Iran and the nuclear negotiating parties have slightly decreased, and we hope to reach a political understanding with political will." Araqchi continued his remarks by saying: "We are negotiating on various topics, each of which has different dimensions; dimensions related to Iran's nuclear program, from enrichment to... what the other side must do." He added: "The nature of the negotiations and the diversity of topics and the breadth of discussions also complicate the work. Therefore, it is difficult to judge whether progress has been made or not." The issue of the number of centrifuges, capacity, and enrichment facilities in Fordow is considered one of the fundamental disagreements between the parties in the nuclear negotiations. Additionally, the immediate lifting of sanctions has been stated as one of Iran's demands in the nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group.