Newspaper Accounts of 'Agreements and Divides' in Vienna

The statements made by the U.S. Secretary of State on Sunday have attracted the attention of several newspapers in Tehran. For instance, Aftab Yazd reported on its front page quoting John Kerry as saying, 'We are close to an agreement,' while Sharvand also quoted him on its front page stating, 'Everyone is looking for a fair agreement.' The newspaper Javan, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, highlighted another part of the U.S. Secretary of State's remarks on its front page, quoting Kerry as saying, 'The agreement is still far from tough decisions by both sides.' Iran's newspaper reported on its front page with the title 'Untold Stories of Vienna According to Araqchi,' stating that Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator, appeared on a live television program broadcast from Vienna on Saturday night to explain the latest publishable details of the Vienna negotiations. He mentioned that 'some texts of the agreement might be finalized at the deputy level within the next couple of days.' According to this newspaper, Araqchi emphasized that 'we do not bind ourselves to time,' stating, 'On the day of the agreement, all economic and financial sanctions from Europe and the U.S. will be lifted, and our actions will also begin from that day.' Iran's newspaper also quoted Araqchi as saying, 'The signing of the agreement is the same as the Security Council resolution because this is a comprehensive action plan that does not have a written signature.' Shargh newspaper quoted Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, on its front page stating, 'The time for agreement is now.' Kayhan newspaper wrote on its front page on Tuesday, 'Both agreement and sanctions, the U.S. wants both.' This newspaper described the outlook of these negotiations and the potential agreement as 'ambiguous,' stating, 'While negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 in Vienna continue, evidence suggests that the simultaneous and parallel efforts of the U.S. to reach a final agreement while maintaining the infrastructure of sanctions against Iran has created an ambiguous outlook regarding the fate of these long negotiations.' Etemad newspaper reported on the drafting of a 'plan to review the assets of members of parliament,' stating that the issue of 'where did you get it from' is not related to the current atmosphere and billion-dollar corruption, 'but it is a wound that has reopened with new events.' This newspaper highlighted parts of Mohammad Reza Aref's remarks on Saturday regarding 'the condition for the success of reformists in parliamentary elections,' stating, 'If we unite, we will win.' According to Etemad, Aref emphasized that 'the main strategy of reformists is to gain a majority in the tenth parliament,' believing that 'reformists can set aside 20 percent of differences of opinion to achieve this important goal since the conditions for reform are such that they do not want to weigh the groups of this current.' Law newspaper reported with the headline 'Public Fasting Violation: Crime or Norm Breaking,' stating, 'Although from a religious perspective, breaking the fast without a legitimate excuse is forbidden, if an individual does not fast, whether with a legitimate excuse or not, they have not committed any crime from a legal perspective.' This newspaper discussed the actions of 'judicial agents' against those accused of 'breaking the fast,' stating that judicial agents act against those accused of 'breaking the fast' based on Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states, 'Anyone who publicly displays a forbidden act in public and streets is punishable by imprisonment from 10 days to two months or up to 74 lashes, and if they commit an act that is not punishable in itself but offends public decency, they will be punished with imprisonment from 10 days to two months or 74 lashes.' Sharvand newspaper examined the topic of the 'sudden resignation of the director-general of the Music Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance,' attempting to answer whether the reason for Pirouz Arjomand's resignation was 'internal conflict and negligence' or if this ministry official was 'a victim of concert cancellations.' Mohammad Reza Pourabrahimi, a representative from Kerman, informed Shargh newspaper that one of the former managers of the automaker Saipa, who had been 'in prison for some time, has now been released on bail.' The Kerman representative also reported the 'arrest of several other former managers of the National Copper Company.' The narrative of newspapers regarding 'agreements and divides' in Vienna continues as Aftab Yazd reported on its front page on Tuesday, quoting the U.S. Secretary of State's statement that 'we are close to an agreement.' Although some believe that time is rapidly approaching July 16, a date many refer to as another deadline, speculation continues as to whether this day will be the one when a comprehensive agreement is reached. This newspaper noted that 'many think hopefully about the outcome of the negotiations, while some believe it is still too early for an agreement. On the one hand, some Western media claim that the negotiations are over and say that an agreement has been reached, but on the other hand, official authorities deny it.' Aftab Yazd stated, 'All these dual news come while heavy discussions continue within Vienna among negotiators, lasting until midnight. Both sides still speak of some disagreements that they will try to resolve in the near future, but it seems that this time there is less discontent being heard, and both parties agree on the necessity of continuing negotiations until a definitive result is achieved.' Sharvand newspaper also quoted John Kerry on its front page stating, 'Everyone is looking for a fair agreement.' Armin Montazeri, a reporter for this newspaper from Vienna, reported that on Sunday, 'John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, immediately after his meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, came among reporters.' In a brief statement to reporters, he said, 'I agree with Mr. Zarif that we have never been this close to an agreement, but we have not yet reached where we need to be. There are still issues that need to be resolved, and if these issues are not resolved, there will be no agreement.' The newspaper reported that Kerry 'cleverly responded to a message from Javad Zarif,' stating, 'We do not negotiate at the media level.' According to this newspaper, the U.S. Secretary of State also spoke about the timing of reaching an agreement, saying, 'As long as we reach an agreement, time stands still, but our goal is to reach an agreement by July 7.' The newspaper reported that Kerry 'repeated Obama's remarks that we are ready to leave the negotiations but are not looking to do so,' but at the same time, in remarks indicating 'the sensitivity of the negotiations these days,' he said, 'Our path from now on can go in any direction. Reaching an agreement requires tough decision-making.' According to this newspaper, the U.S. Secretary of State emphasized that 'since entering the negotiations, we have always stressed that we want to reach a good agreement and we are not going to sideline ourselves to reach an agreement because the whole world and nuclear experts are watching these negotiations, and we do not want to take any action that will later embarrass us.' The newspaper noted, 'Despite some journalists referring to Kerry's remarks as statements that lower expectations, there are no signs in his remarks indicating serious and unsolvable knots in the negotiations.' Javan newspaper highlighted another part of the U.S. Secretary of State's remarks on its front page, quoting Kerry as saying, 'The agreement is still far from tough decisions by both sides.' This newspaper pointed out that Kerry's statement that 'we do not conduct negotiations in front of reporters' referred to 'the confidentiality of most negotiation topics' and 'raised many questions in journalists' minds about the quality and details of the potential agreement.' Iran's newspaper reported on its front page titled 'Untold Stories of Vienna According to Araqchi,' stating, 'Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator, appeared on a live television program broadcast from Vienna on Saturday night to explain the latest publishable details of the Vienna negotiations.' He mentioned that 'some texts of the agreement might be finalized at the deputy level within the next couple of days.' According to this newspaper, Araqchi emphasized that 'we do not bind ourselves to time, but we believe that extending negotiations is not a desirable option for either side,' stating, 'On the day of the agreement, all economic and financial sanctions from Europe and the U.S. will be lifted, and our actions will also begin from that day.' Iran's newspaper also quoted Araqchi as saying, 'The signing of the agreement is the same as the Security Council resolution because this is a comprehensive action plan that does not have a written signature.' The member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team emphasized that 'lengthening the negotiations is not in favor of the negotiations, and we are making every effort to reach a conclusion within this specified timeframe,' stating, 'The final agreement is about 20 pages long and will have a total text of 70 to 80 pages with 5 different appendices, and we are looking to reach a comprehensive agreement in one phase where all details are specified in the main text and appendices.'