Zarif: Some Differences Still Remain

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, said on Monday, July 6, at the end of the Night of Destiny ceremony in Vienna, "We are trying to resolve some of the remaining differences, but in some cases, differences still remain." According to the IRNA news agency, Zarif further stated, "The outcome is still uncertain," and requested prayers from the people for what is best for Islam, Muslims, and the nation. Nuclear negotiations are ongoing in the final days of a deadline that has been extended once from July 1 to July 6, between Iran and six negotiating countries. According to a reporter from Radio Farda in Vienna, on Monday, the foreign ministers of the 1+5 group held a coordination meeting starting at 11:30 AM local time. On Sunday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Russia, along with Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, also traveled to Vienna to join John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign ministers of the US and Iran. Additionally, according to Hannah Kavyani, a reporter from Radio Farda in Vienna, Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, arrived in Vienna on Monday for the negotiations and stated upon arrival that "new progress has been made in the negotiations in recent days, but many issues remain." He added, "We believe that acceptable solutions can be found for the remaining issues, and as a result, a comprehensive agreement is achievable." Wang Yi emphasized that it is crucial for all parties, especially Iran and the US, to make final decisions as soon as possible. He concluded by saying, "I have returned today to demonstrate China's readiness to play a role in achieving a comprehensive agreement." Participants in the negotiations on Monday told a Radio Farda reporter that since Iran generally believes that the arms sales sanctions should not be linked to the nuclear issue, Iran does not want to legitimize this by including it in the comprehensive agreement and wants to work to lift this sanction at another opportunity. Several journalists also reported that the issue of banning arms sales to Iran and whether or not it would be included in the new Security Council resolution following the agreement is among the topics discussed by the ministers, and Russia and China do not agree with Europe and the US on this matter. Iranian domestic media: Final deadline is Wednesday or Thursday. The state news agency IRNA and the Fars news agency reported on Monday, July 6, citing an "informed source," that the drafting of the technical annex of the final agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program has progressed by "70 percent" and the drafting of some other annexes of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) has progressed by "90 percent." This "informed source" also mentioned that the final deadline for the agreement between Iran and the 1+5 group is Wednesday night or early Thursday. These statements come as the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, and China are scheduled to attend the BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Ufa, Russia, on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 7 and 8. Furthermore, according to the "Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act," if nuclear negotiations with Iran do not conclude by Thursday, July 9, the US Congress will have 60 days instead of 30 days to review the potential final agreement. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, described the fate of the negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program as uncertain and stated that there are still unresolved difficult issues. This "informed source" said that Mr. Kerry's remarks were "not too negative," but that serious problems remain in some areas. He added, "Today there were intense discussions between Iran and the opposing side." The Iranian government has no intention of holding a nuclear celebration. Hossein Ali Amiri, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, stated on Monday in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) regarding the possibility of holding a nuclear celebration after the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 1+5 that, "As of Sunday evening, no request for holding a nuclear celebration has been received by the Ministry of Interior or the governorate." He further added, "The government has no plans to hold any celebration (for a potential comprehensive agreement)." He did not provide further explanation for this decision. Meanwhile, as nuclear negotiations continue in Vienna, a five-member delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Tehran on Monday and is set to negotiate with officials from the Atomic Energy Organization, Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA, and officials from Iran's Supreme National Security Council. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated that the purpose of this one-day visit is to discuss the "details of the agreements made" during the recent visit of Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, to Tehran. According to Mr. Kamalvandi, this delegation includes two special assistants to Mr. Amano, Tero Varjoranta and Colonel Trotta. Yukiya Amano met with President Hassan Rouhani and Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, on Thursday, July 2. Mr. Amano announced on Saturday that if Iran cooperates, the IAEA could prepare its report on the "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program within six months (by the end of the current calendar year). The IAEA has requested actions, including visits to the Parchin military site, to resolve ambiguities regarding the "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program. In recent months, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian military officials have repeatedly expressed their strong opposition to granting access to Iranian military sites and interviewing Iranian nuclear scientists to resolve the "remaining issues" between Iran and the IAEA. However, the Kayhan newspaper reported on Saturday that "based on current information and reports," the text of the final agreement between Iran and the 1+5 is written based on the Lausanne framework and "no fundamental changes have been made to it." According to this newspaper, regarding the IAEA's inspections of "suspicious sites" in Iran, "only the wording has changed" and access to documents, locations, individuals, and military equipment "has not been excluded in any way."