Following the recent meeting between Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and a report broadcasted by Al Jazeera TV, the mullahs’ Foreign Ministry spokesman and state media quickly responded and denied any claims of Khamenei saying he is willing to “compromise” on the Iran nuclear deal dossier.
“First of all, such a take from the meeting is completely wrong. Secondly, it seems Al Jazeera didn’t practice enough precision in their translation and there are some negative intentions involved through the media,” said Iranian regime Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh. “[Khamenei] never raised the issue of compromise. In fact, he told the Emir of Qatar that we have always said that negotiations must provide results and not be a waste of time. The Americans know what they have to do,” he added.
With such remarks Tehran is punting the ball into Washington’s court once again seeking more concessions from the Biden administration.
As the nuclear stalemate continues, Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Emir of Qatar’s visit to Tehran and meeting with Khamenei caused quite a stir. “A translation of this news report is circulating that the Qatari Foreign Minister has said the Iranian leadership has told the Qatari delegation, ‘We are ready to compromise on the Iran nuclear dossier.’ This is clearly a completely false and devilish translation with certain political motivations,” reads a report wired by the Tasnim news agency, an outlet linked to the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force.
“Other Iranian officials have again emphasized that Iran, as in the past, seeks to reach a fair agreement that will return the U.S. to implementing its obligations. Despite all this, it has been months and years that the U.S. government has refused to live up to its obligations through greed and various pretexts,” the report adds.
As this saga continues there are reports claiming Western diplomats are voicing concern about the future of the JCPOA, as referred to by the acronym for the formal name of the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. One European diplomat has told the media each day without an agreement significantly adds to the threat of losing everything that has been gained to this point. This diplomat, who is closely engaged with the nuclear talks, says the U.S. and Iran’s regime seem to be heading towards different directions and the distance between them is not decreasing.
Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) National Security Committee, said on May 27 that the Iranian people should be informed about the truth that the nuclear deal will render no results, emphasizing the regime’s differences with the Americans and the Europeans is fundamental, and vice versa.
Last week, the French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the JCPOA is held behind an issue that is principally unassociated to the nuclear agreement, referring to Tehran’s insistence on the IRGC’s delisting from the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Enrique Mora, the EU’s deputy foreign policy chief, paid a visit recently to Tehran, after which his boss, Josep Borrell, claimed there has been an opening in the nuclear deadlock. Borrell, following a recent telephone call with Iranian regime Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, warned that further delay will make reaching an agreement all the more difficult.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson, however, while expressing gratitude for Mora’s visit, said an agreement remains uncertain. Iran needs to decide if they wish to continue emphasizing non-JCPOA conditions or whether they wish to reach a quick agreement, the U.S. official added.
These developments are raising concerns in Tehran. “Enrique Mora, or any other foreign official, who is attempting to end the Iran nuclear deal stalemate, should be more focused on Washington, and not Tehran,” Amir-Ali Abolfat’h, an expert linked to the regime’s media apparatus, said on May 11 in an interview with the state-run Fararu website. “The fact that Mora has recently visited Tehran and Borrell is voicing consent about the negotiations, in my opinion, are distant from the current circumstances regarding the Iran nuclear talks. The distance between the two parties (Iran and the U.S.) is quite significant and I doubt Mora will be able to achieve anything such as a quick development regarding the nuclear talks,” he added.
These Iran nuclear talks began in April 2021 in Vienna and came to a halt on March 11, 2022. During the past three months, the talks have been stalled, leaving the fate of the JCPOA in limbo more than ever before. The main obstacle is Tehran’s insistence on having the IRGC delisted from the U.S. State Dept.’s FTO list.
The main question is will Khamenei agree to compromise considering that sanctions continue to deprive his regime of much-needed revenue, especially with anti-regime protests escalating in recent weeks.
