New Round of Negotiations for Final Nuclear Agreement Begins on Thursday

As discussions continue in Tehran regarding inspections of military sites and interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists, the sixth round of negotiations to draft the final agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group is set to begin on Thursday in Vienna, Austria. Meanwhile, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of the Iranian negotiating team, emphasized that this team rejected the P5+1's proposal about three months ago to resolve the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program (PMD) through 'access to two military sites and interviews with certain military and scientific figures.' According to Fars News Agency, the new round of negotiations for drafting the final agreement on Iran's nuclear program will take place with the presence of all negotiating delegations from the P5+1 at the level of deputy foreign ministers and directors-general, as well as Helga Schmid, the Deputy High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs. The agency reported that these negotiations will start on Thursday, June 3, but it is still unclear how long they will last. Based on this report, the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, led by Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, two deputy foreign ministers of Iran, will head to Vienna on Thursday. The fifth round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 for drafting the final agreement took place from May 26 to May 29 in Vienna. Following these negotiations, Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the United States, along with their deputies, negotiated in Geneva on Saturday, June 9, to review the drafting process of this agreement. On the same day, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, emphasized that interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists and inspections of military sites are 'completely off the table,' but discussions between Iran and the P5+1 continue within the framework of 'procedures' outlined by the Additional Protocol. Mr. Araqchi had also reported a day earlier that there was no agreement in Tehran regarding the 'list of solutions' to resolve the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program or PMD. Meanwhile, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of the Iranian negotiating team, wrote on his Instagram page on Tuesday, providing further details, that this team had also expressed its opposition about three months ago to the P5+1's proposals for resolving the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, and Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of this team, emphasized that this proposal would not be 'accepted.' Mr. Baidi-Nejad added: 'They asked us to provide a report to our officials to inform Tehran of their proposal, which was done at that time, about three months ago, and the negotiating team's position was confirmed and appreciated at all high levels.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has emphasized that he will not allow interviews with nuclear scientists and inspections of Iran's military sites. Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, confirmed reports about the Western side's request to interview 23 'officials and experts' of Iran's nuclear program, stating that he is the first person on this list. Mehrdad Bazrpash, a member of the Parliament's presiding board, also mentioned Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization, and Kamran Daneshjoo, the former Minister of Science, as some of the other individuals on the 'Americans' list for interviews. However, Ali Akbar Velayati, the international affairs advisor to the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on June 10 that he was unaware of this list of 23 individuals, while also suggesting that 'perhaps my name is on it, but I don't know.' In this context, the U.S. stated that John Kerry's injury would not slow down the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Obama stated that the solution to Iran's nuclear program is negotiation, not military action. The New York Times reported a 20% increase in Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. A recent agency report noted 'Iran's procrastination and continued technical deadlock.'