Salehi Reports Resolution of 'Technical Deadlocks' in Nuclear Negotiations

On Saturday, March 6, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced that recent negotiations between him and the U.S. Secretary of Energy have resolved 'technical deadlocks' in the Islamic Republic's discussions with the P5+1 group regarding Iran's nuclear program. According to IRIB News Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi stated, 'We faced a kind of technical deadlock in the negotiations, and the higher authorities of the system decided that I should personally participate in the negotiations and engage in discussions on the details with the highest-ranking official on the other side, the U.S. Secretary of Energy.' He added, 'Overall, these negotiations were balanced, and given my experience and familiarity with scientific and technical issues, my presence was very helpful, and it can be said that in these two sessions, the technical deadlocks were resolved.' Salehi emphasized, 'Fortunately, these two sessions were very fruitful, and we made good progress.' On Saturday, March 2, for the first time, technical nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. took place in Geneva with the participation of Ali Akbar Salehi and Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy. In the next round of bilateral negotiations on Tuesday, March 11, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the U.S. Secretary of Energy were also present. Previously, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated on Saturday, March 9, that there had been 'significant progress' in technical areas during these negotiations, but differences still remain in 'other nuclear areas' and sanctions. Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, mentioned on Thursday, March 14, that the political decision-making time would come after the technical discussions are concluded, stating, 'Both sides need to interact in the realm of technical discussions... sometimes technical discussions lead to technical solutions that help better political decision-making.' The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization also noted that he could not disclose the details of his negotiations, adding, 'In these negotiations, we discussed the enrichment of the Arak research reactor, research and development issues, the Fordow site, and some smaller matters.' He specified, 'We made very good progress on issues related to enrichment and the Arak reactor, and we were able to address their fabricated concerns with the technical proposal we presented.' Recently, the issue of reducing Iran's nuclear activities for a period of 10 years has been raised. In this context, Mohammad Javad Zarif also mentioned on Thursday, March 14, that the Islamic Republic might accept a proposal to limit its nuclear activities for 10 years. However, Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated on Friday, March 15, that the commitments proposed by Iran are insufficient. According to Fabius, there are still issues regarding the scope of the commitments Iran is willing to accept, the duration of these commitments, and how to monitor their implementation, indicating that more work needs to be done. Following the interim agreement reached in 2013 in Geneva, Iran and the P5+1 group are currently negotiating to reach a final and comprehensive agreement. The final deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement is set for June of this year (July 9).