Zarif: Reaching a Comprehensive Agreement Requires the Will of the Other Side

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated on Wednesday that reaching a 'comprehensive' nuclear agreement in negotiations with the P5+1 countries requires what he termed 'the will of the other side,' adding that 'if the other side lacks the will, even if we negotiate for 10 years, we will not reach a conclusion.' The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry also responded to remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama, saying, 'It is now the American side that must set aside its excessive demands and, overcoming its internal issues, make a final decision to create the groundwork for a comprehensive agreement.' Recently, Barack Obama commented on the nuclear negotiations with Iran, stating, 'The West seeks an agreement with Iran that allows the country to have a peaceful nuclear program with guarantees that Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and 'now is the time for Iran to make its decision.' According to the state-run news agency IRNA, Marzieh Afkham on Wednesday, February 11, described what she referred to as 'Iran's commitment to the Geneva agreement' as indicative of Iran's seriousness 'in the decision it has made.' She added, 'The repeated erroneous argument that illegal and oppressive sanctions have brought the Islamic Republic of Iran to the negotiating table is stated with the aim of attracting the attention of American public opinion and countering political rivals.' In response to these remarks, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, also stated on Tuesday, February 10, that 'good progress has been made' in nuclear negotiations with global powers, saying that the Islamic Republic has taken 'necessary steps' and it is now 'the other side's turn.' On the same day, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, reacted to Mr. Obama's statements, saying that 'the Western side has mistaken the negotiation arena for a marketplace. Negotiations are a dialogue arena, not a field for merchant-like behaviors.' On Wednesday, during the official anniversary rally of the 1979 Revolution, several officials of the Islamic Republic, including Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council, and Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, called for the implementation of the views of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding a one-stage agreement with the P5+1 group. According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Javad Zarif also commented on this, saying, 'The perspective I pursued in negotiations has been the same, and I am pleased that the Supreme Leader's view is also the same.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, called on Sunday, February 8, for 'the agreement on the generalities and details to be in one stage and with clear and unambiguous provisions,' but hours after these remarks, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that any extension of nuclear negotiations with Iran after April 4 is off the table unless a framework and outline of an agreement is specified by then. Iran and the P5+1 group, which includes the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, China, and Russia, have twice extended the deadline for reaching a comprehensive and final agreement since the interim Geneva agreement in November 2013. They have set July 1, 2015, as the deadline for reaching this agreement, but first, they must reach a political agreement on the generalities by April 4.