Zarif's Deputy: If We Do Not Reach an Agreement, We Will Rely on Ourselves

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and chief negotiator, stated in an interview with an American publication that if a final nuclear agreement is not reached, "the world will not come to an end." He mentioned that Iran is trying to reduce its reliance on oil to "zero" and that if a final agreement is not achieved, Iran's approach will be one of "self-reliance." Takht-Ravanchi made these remarks on Tuesday, July 9, during an interview with the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" in response to a question about the expected impact of reaching or not reaching an agreement on the government. He said, "If an agreement is reached, it will be beneficial for us and for the region... but the agreement must be a good and sustainable one." He added, "Meanwhile, if no agreement is reached, the world will not come to an end. The current government [of Iran] is trying to distance itself from reliance on oil so that it is no longer held hostage by oil prices." Takht-Ravanchi further stated, "Our hope is to reduce our reliance [on oil] to zero in the coming years. We know it will be very difficult. No one can deny that lacking foreign exchanges is a difficult matter, but our view is that achieving a good agreement is worthwhile; however, if no agreement is reached, we will rely on ourselves." On the same day as Takht-Ravanchi's interview, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the Iranian government spokesman, announced in a press conference that the Iranian government has prepared a plan for the possibility of no agreement and increased sanctions. According to Mehr News Agency, Nobakht stated, "I must say that given that officials of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly announced that they do not trust the other side, especially the Americans, we always have a degree of pessimism regarding the outcome of the negotiations and we anticipate that this matter may not be successful." He added, "For this reason, we have prepared ourselves to manage the country in the event that this does not happen, considering the severity of the sanctions that will be imposed." The spokesperson for Rouhani's government continued, "We have a plan for this matter, and in fact, just yesterday, we held a meeting to update this plan at my office as the Organization for Management and Planning of the country." While the final deadline for reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program expired on the evening of Tuesday, July 9, Iran and the 1+5 group agreed to extend the negotiations until next Tuesday, July 16 (July 7). Hours after this extension was announced, Barack Obama, the President of the United States, emphasized that if negotiators do not ensure that all pathways for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons are blocked, there will be no agreement. On the same day, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, warned that if a potential agreement between Iran and the 1+5 group is "trampled on," Iran will revert to its previous course. In the nearly decade-long nuclear negotiations between Iran and global powers, the priority for global powers is to alleviate concerns regarding Iran's nuclear program; meanwhile, the issue of lifting sanctions against Iran is at the top of the priorities for the Iranian negotiating team.