Zarif in Geneva: We Will Decide Based on the Latest Status of Negotiations

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated on Friday, June 8, ahead of a meeting with his American counterpart John Kerry, that the Islamic Republic will make a 'decision' regarding the nuclear negotiations based on the latest status of the talks with the 1+5 group. Upon his arrival at Geneva airport, Zarif told the reporter from 'Central News Unit': 'In Geneva, we will review the latest status of the negotiations and based on that, we will decide.' He added, 'Tomorrow I will discuss the nuclear negotiations with John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State. Last night, my colleagues in Vienna talked late into the night with representatives of the 1+5 and also with the American side.' In response to a question regarding the simultaneous lifting of all sanctions, Zarif said, 'We emphasize the points and principles that we have raised from the beginning and which have been clearly stated in the Lausanne statement.' Zarif did not provide further details regarding the dimensions and nature of decision-making in this round of negotiations. Meanwhile, in recent days, the issue of access to military sites and interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists to resolve 'remaining issues' between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency has led to a wave of confrontations between supporters of the nuclear negotiating team and opponents in Iran. One of the remaining issues regarding Iran's nuclear program is the 'possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program' or PMD, which according to Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, 'a series of solutions' were proposed to resolve the issue, and 'one solution that the other side proposed was to specify a list of individuals and centers so that the agency could have managed access to them.' Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araqchi have repeatedly spoken in recent weeks about 'managed access' to Iran's military sites based on the Additional Protocol, stating that 'access' means not inspections but 'environmental sampling.' However, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has ruled out interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists and inspections of Iran's military sites, with one commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also considering inspections of these sites 'under any title' as 'espionage.' Following these statements by the Iranian leader, a wave of opposition to the IAEA's 'managed' inspections began among Friday prayer leaders and hardline conservatives. Nevertheless, on June 8, Abbas Araqchi stated that the idea of 'managed access' to Iran's military sites 'in Tehran' has not been agreed upon. Meanwhile, Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated on June 6 that his country will not support a nuclear agreement with Iran unless it allows access to all of Iran's nuclear facilities, including military sites. Iran and the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia, along with Germany (the members of the 1+5 group), announced in a statement on April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland, that they have defined the 'frameworks' for the final agreement. According to the Lausanne understanding, the scope of Iran's nuclear program will be limited so that in return, the European Union and United States sanctions and United Nations Security Council resolutions against the Islamic Republic will be lifted. Iran and the 1+5 group members have until July 2 to reach a final and comprehensive agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program.