Jahangiri: We Are at a Point Where Serious Decisions Must Be Made in Negotiations

Ishaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, stated on Tuesday, June 16, that the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six world powers have reached a "decisive point" and serious decisions must be made. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Jahangiri expressed, "Currently, we are facing a significant international challenge called unjust sanctions imposed against the Iranian people and economy. Today, we have reached a decisive point and final decision-making in this regard, and we are at a stage where serious decisions must be made." Jahangiri further emphasized that "the nuclear negotiations have been difficult and complex," stating, "Our counterparts were the major countries of the world, but with God's grace and relying on our own capabilities, as well as confidence in the path we have chosen, we hope to achieve a favorable outcome from the negotiations, which will both affirm the nuclear rights of the Iranian people and remove the unjust sanctions from our path." Only fourteen days remain until the deadline for negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 group to reach a comprehensive and final agreement regarding Tehran's nuclear program, and the parties must resolve their differences during this period or extend the negotiation time. Meanwhile, a member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team announced on Tuesday that "the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 will intensify in the coming days." Hamid Baidi-Nejad, head of the Iranian expert team in the nuclear negotiations, responded to the question of whether political deputies and managers from the 1+5 countries will join the new round of negotiations in the coming days, stating, "Naturally, the political managers of the 1+5 will come to the negotiations based on the plans they have, and in fact, we will face a greater intensity in the negotiations in the coming days." He also denied a Reuters report quoting an Iranian official that the UN Security Council resolution would be postponed until after the U.S. Congress's opinion on the agreement, saying, "I deny such news and think it is completely fabricated." One of the contentious issues between Tehran and the six world powers is the method of inspection of Iran's military facilities and the acceptance of the "Additional Protocol." In this context, Hassan Rouhani defended the implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty on June 13, stating that "while implementing this protocol, Iran will not allow others access to its secrets." In response to a question regarding the implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he stated, "We will implement the Additional Protocol and prove that the baseless accusations made against us regarding the construction of an atomic bomb are unfounded." Meanwhile, Iran's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that U.S. intelligence services have forged documents related to Iran's nuclear program. According to ISNA, Reza Najafi accused the U.S. of "forging information" about Tehran's nuclear program, stating, "The claim that Iran's nuclear program has military dimensions is baseless, and the information that worries the IAEA is the same information that has been forged by U.S. intelligence services." Najafi had previously described the accusations made under the title of "possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program" or PMD as "baseless and unfounded" and stated that Iran does not recognize these accusations. The IAEA had expressed serious concerns regarding the possible "military" dimensions of Iran's nuclear activities in its report in November 2011, stating that it had credible information indicating that Iran may have conducted research related to the development of nuclear weapons. The Associated Press reported in November 2011 that the IAEA's report detailed the agency's overall knowledge regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, including the following points: "Secret preparations of equipment and information related to the design required for such a weapon; testing of high explosives and development of a detonator for adjusting the nuclear charge; computer design and modeling of the core of a nuclear warhead; preliminary work for testing nuclear weapons, and development and work on the transfer of materials onto the Shahab 3 warhead." Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA in November 2011 described the agency's director-general's report as "imbalanced, unprofessional, and political, repeating past claims."