Saudi Arabia aims to take advantage of its uranium resources to develop its nuclear power program, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud revealed…reports Asian Lite News
During the International Mining Conference in Riyadh, he highlighted the importance of energy flexibility to face the transition to clean energy, Xinhua news agency quoted Al Arabiya News as saying.
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said that the disputes, or so-called “open parenthesis”, are decreasing in the ongoing Vienna talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal…reports Asian Lite News
Bagheri Kani made the remarks on Saturday at the end of meetings between representatives of Iran and other remaining parties to the deal before leaving the Coburg Hotel in Vienna, where the negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program are continuing, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Iranian negotiator also told reporters that the talks are moving forward and are advancing.
In the last two days, intensive talks aimed at reviving the Iranian nuclear pact, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, have been held at various levels and in different forms.
According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, mechanisms are on the table in the Vienna talks for the issue of guarantees for the full implementation of a possible deal, and there are discussions about the details of such mechanisms.
Another important issue is the verification of lifting sanctions in such a way that Iran can benefit from the removal of sanctions in an effective, practical and verifiable manner, it said.
Tasnim also reported that a checklist of US actions in the Vienna talks is being prepared.
Iran ready for talks on crashed Ukrainian jet
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the country is ready to hold bilateral talks with each of the related countries on issues concerning the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran in 2020.
Expressing condolences to the victims’ families in a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry said that Iran’s preparedness comes despite “illegal measures by certain states seeking to gain political advantages” by exploiting the accident and sorrows of the victims’ families, reports Xinhua news agency.
It added that any talks should be based on goodwill, respect for countries’ sovereignty, domestic laws and international obligations.
The Ministry noted that following the tragic event, all of the country’s related organisations announced the main cause of the accident and fulfilled their responsibilities according to domestic law and international commitments “precisely, transparently and quickly”.
The announcement came as a reaction to a Thursday joint statement on reparations made by Canada, the UK, Sweden and Ukraine, whose citizens were killed in the crash.
The four countries said they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations for the crashed plane and would try to settle the matter according to international law.
The Ukraine passenger flight crashed on January 8, 2020, by Iranian missiles shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.
Iran said that its forces “accidentally” shot down the plane.
On Friday, the second anniversary of the tragic accident victims was commemorated at a ceremony in Tehran’s Behesht Zahra cemetery.
Iran’s top negotiator said the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna are focused on the removal of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic and reflecting an onward and positive trend…reports Asian Lite News
Ali Bagheri Kani made the remarks on Wednesday before entering Palais Coburg, where the negotiations on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are being held, reports Xinhua news agency.
He noted that efforts are underway to achieve a result commenting on the outcome of the talks over the past few days since the beginning of their eighth round.
Bagheri Kani said the effective removal of US sanctions on Iran is key to arriving at an agreement in the Vienna talks.
The more seriousness the other sides demonstrate for removing the sanctions and accepting the mechanisms proposed by Iran for the lifting of the restrictions, particularly regarding the verification and guarantee issues, the sooner it will be possible to reach an agreement, he noted.
Iran and the five other remaining signatories to the JCPOA, namely China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany, have held rounds of talks in Vienna in a bid to revive the deal, which Washington quit in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the five nuclear-weapon states’ joint statement on the prevention of nuclear war and avoidance of arms races…reports Asian Lite News
On Monday, the leaders of China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US issued the joint statement which said that they “consider the avoidance of war between Nuclear-Weapon States and the reduction of strategic risks as our foremost responsibilities”.
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons—for as long as they continue to exist—should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.
“We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented,” the statement added.
Regarding Guterres’ response, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “The Secretary-General appreciates the recognition by the nuclear-weapon States of their need to comply with their bilateral and multilateral non-proliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements and commitments, including their binding obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons related to nuclear disarmament.
“He is encouraged by the nuclear-weapon States’ commitment to pursue measures to prevent nuclear war, consistent with his long-standing call for dialogue and cooperation to this end. He looks forward to further details about future initiatives.
“The Secretary-General takes the opportunity to restate what he has said repeatedly: the only way to eliminate all nuclear risks is to eliminate all nuclear weapons. He reiterates his willingness to work with the nuclear-weapon States and all Member States to achieve this goal as soon as possible.”
The Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in July 2015…reports Asian Lite News
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the E3 group of France, the UK and Germany as well as the US have realised that they have to quit their “maximalist demands” in the negotiations to restore the historic 2015 nuclear deal.
“If we have a common text today, it is the result of the Western sides adopting a more realistic approach in the Vienna talks and realizing that they cannot have demands beyond the scopes of the nuclear deal in the ongoing negotiations in the Austrian capital,” Xinhua news agency quoted Mnistry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying to the media here on Monday.
He said the mechanisms pursued in Vienna are clear, adding both bilateral and multilateral talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the P4+1 countries.
The Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in July 2015.
In May 2018, the US government under former President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement.
Iran and other remaining parties to the JCPOA started a diplomatic process in Vienna in April 2021 to revive the JCPOA, as part of which rounds of negotiations have been held.
The eighth round of the Vienna talks began on December 27.
Following a break owing to the arrival of the New Year, the negotiations are expected to resume this week.
Russia and Iran FM’s discuss 2015 Iran nuclear call over phone
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian held a phone conversation to discuss the 2015 Iran nuclear deal…reports Asian Lite News
The top diplomats on Monday reaffirmed their common position to restore the nuclear deal in its original balanced text, approved by the United Nations Security Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Russia and Iran FM’s discuss 2015 Iran nuclear call over phone
They stressed that this is the only correct way to ensure the rights and interests of all participants in the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Xinhua news agency reported.
Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said that the delegations of participating parties in the nuclear talks will return to their capitals for consultations, and the talks will resume in Vienna next week…reports Asian Lite News
During the meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Joint Commission on Friday, a review of the past days’ talks in Vienna was presented by the parties, Bagheri Kani was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
Iran: nuclear talks in Vienna to resume next week
The parties needed consultations with their governments about Iran’s proposals to provide “reasonable, documented and logical responses,” he said.
He announced on Thursday that two draft texts containing Iran’s proposals on sanctions removal and nuclear restrictions have been presented to the parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement, Xinhua news agency reported.
Bagheri Kani voiced the hope that the JCPOA parties will reach their conclusions “in the shortest time possible.”
Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, with still indirect involvement of the US, resumed the talks on Monday after nearly six months of hiatus in the Austrian capital of Vienna, seeking to remove anti-Iran sanctions and revive the agreement.
Israel has urged the United States to halt the nuclear talks with Iran immediately, accusing Iran of having begun to enrich uranium with advanced centrifuges…reports Asian Lite News
The call was made on Thursday during a phone talk between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to a statement issued by Bennett’s office, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel urges US to halt nuclear talks with Iran
Bennett quoted a report released on Wednesday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to which Iran has started the process of enriching uranium to the level of 20-per cent purity with advanced centrifuges at its Fordow underground facility.
Accusing Iran of “carrying out ‘nuclear blackmail’ as a negotiation tactic,” the Israeli leader said “this must be met with an immediate cessation” of the ongoing negotiations between Iran and world powers in Vienna.
The talks in the Austrian capital are aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
A vocal opponent of the nuclear deal, Israel insists that Iran has been secretly seeking to obtain nuclear weapons despite Iran’s repeated statements that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
EU, Russia and Iran optimistic after resumption of nuclear talks
Diplomats from EU, Russia and Iran in Vienna expressed optimism amid a fresh round of Iran nuclear talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal after a hiatus of more than five months…reports Asian Lite News
“I feel extremely positive about what I have seen today,” said Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service, who chaired the talks, after the meeting.
There is “clearly a will” by the Iranian delegation to bring the JCPOA back to life, Mora added, referring to Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that inked the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Xinhua news agency reported.
EU, Russia and Iran optimistic after resumption of nuclear talks
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna, said on Twitter that the participants agreed on further immediate steps during the seventh round of negotiations which started “quite successfully”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s top negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani also expressed optimism after the talks.
However, it remains to be seen whether such optimism can be transformed into real results as diplomats from China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany, in addition to Iran, convened on Monday at the Palais Coburg hotel to try to revive the 2015 deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Friday that Iran was serious about the upcoming nuclear talks and wants “a good and verifiable agreement.”
“If other parties are ready to return to their full obligations and lift sanctions, a good and even immediate agreement can be
reached,” Amir Abdollahian added in a telephone conversation with EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell.
The last round of talks over the restoration of the 2015 deal was held in June 2021.
The US government under Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019.
Iran’s new negotiating team has set out demands for the revival of the nuclear agreement, including the removal of all US sanctions, verification mechanism for the removal of embargo, and guarantees from the US that the next administrations will not breach the deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has called for a “serious” approach of the negotiating sides in the upcoming nuclear talks for a “good deal”…reports Asian Lite News
“I believe that if the opposite sides enter the Vienna talks with a serious and positive approach, it will be possible to achieve a good agreement in a short time,” Amir Abdollahian was quoted as saying.
The Islamic Republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are set to meet in the Austrian capital of Vienna on November 29 to resume the negotiations which were paused in June due to Iran’s presidential election and the subsequent alteration in the administration.
NUKE ROW Iran Is Ready For Good Deal
“The Islamic Republic has no intention to be locked in the stalemate remaining from the previous negotiations,” he said, urging for “effective and verifiable removal of (US) sanctions and the return of the opposite sides to their full obligations” as the necessary steps for the progress of the talks.
Washington’s behaviour in imposing new sanctions against Iran has made providing “objective guarantees” an unavoidable necessity, he said, referring to the Iranian officials’ persistence for the guarantees that the next US administrations will not repeat the legacy of former President Donald Trump by withdrawing from the deal and re-imposing sanctions against Tehran.
Amir Abdollahian also pointed to the recent European tour of Iran’s nuclear negotiator Ali Baqheri Kani, saying that he has had “explicit and useful” talks in a number of European capitals ahead of the scheduled reconvene of the talks.
The JCPOA Joint Commission is scheduled to reconvene in Vienna with the participation of delegates from China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and Iran.
The US, which terminated its participation in the agreement in May 2018, is expected to engage in the talks indirectly.
