Return to the nuclear deal? Media in Iran reported this week that Iranian and European diplomats recently met secretly in Oslo, in an attempt to revive the negotiations between Tehran and the West. In the meantime, the Middle East Research Institute in Slovenia estimated today (Sunday) that if the nuclear agreement does return to the negotiating table, Russia will be the biggest loser, and that it “is not in Moscow’s interests”.
According to the institute’s analysis, Russia fears a return to the nuclear agreement, as it means the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran. The institute’s researchers explained that with the lifting of sanctions, Iran will not have to rely on Russian technology for the development of the country’s oil industry. Also, Moscow fears that Iran will moderate its anti-American policy alongside the Kremlin.
The Iranian reactor in Bushehr (Photo: IIPA via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the institute’s researchers further explained that “Russia is not afraid of a nuclear Iran, as much as it is afraid of an alliance with the West, because the West can use it as a tool to weaken Moscow and penetrate Central Asia.” As you may remember, it was Russia that prevented the final signing of the nuclear agreement in Vienna. This, after Moscow asked Washington for guarantees that the economic relations between Tehran and Moscow would not be subject to sanctions imposed by the West, because of the invasion of Ukraine.
However, the Russian request did not favor Iran, as Tehran wanted to reach an agreement, but at the same time, did not want to spoil its relations with Moscow, which supported it during the difficult times, especially when the Islamic Republic was subject to US sanctions in recent decades. Later, they explained Institute researchers, that Iran does aspire to return to the agreement, in order to calm concerns in the West, especially after the visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, to Tehran.
Raphael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (Photo: Reuters)
As you may recall, the head of the Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, visited Iran earlier this month and held a joint press conference with the head of the Iranian nuclear program, during which he stated that “there are ‘great expectations’ in talks with Iran” and stated: “Any attack on nuclear facilities is illegal.” Grossi said these words during a visit to Tehran, which, according to diplomats, was intended to push Iran to cooperate with the IAEA investigation after the confidential report that revealed that Iran had enriched pines to the level of 84% – a few percent of the level needed to create nuclear weapons.
Grossi, who spoke during a joint press conference with Mohammad Aslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, noted that talks are ongoing with Iran on two sets of important matters including the science sector, and there are “great expectations” regarding the process. According to him, the talks take place in an “atmosphere of work, honesty and cooperation”.