US implies 'alternative methods' to stop Iran as nuclear talks see 'moderate progress'

Negotiations on the 2015 Nuclear Deal were adjourned on Friday with US officials saying that Iran’s expectations weren’t ‘realistic’ but “moderate progress” was made nonetheless. The talks to salvage the deal commenced earlier this month with both Tehran and Washington demanding full compliance from the other side. Regardless the Biden administration has asserted that if talks failed, then it was fully prepared to use “alternative methods” to prevent the Islamic Republic from gaining nuclear weapons. 

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA), signed between Iran and other major world powers, including the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia, and Germany (P5+1), saw Washington lifting economic sanctions against Tehran and in return, the Islamic Republic agreed to bring down its uranium enrichment programme. However, in 2018, then US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the pact. Since then, there have been seven rounds of talks to salvage the pact. The latest deliberation, conducted in Vienna saw the US participate from a distance. 

Meanwhile, a senior American official said that an agreement to install a security camera at a key Iranian nuclear facility was reached. In addendum, agreement on the text of the whole deal was also reached, according to a report by Sputnik. It is imperative to note that the security camera at the Karaj Nuclear facility was sabotaged earlier this year, allegedly by Israeli Security Agency Mossad. Israel has repeatedly urged the West to not fall into Iran’s “nuclear blackmail.” 

As talks halted, a European official said that it was “a disappointing pause” and that negotiators in Vienna are “rapidly reaching the end of the road”. European Union diplomat Enrique Mora, who chaired the talks express hope that it would resume before the year ends.“I hope it will be during 2021,” he told reporters. No date for the eighth round has been announced as yet. 

What does west expect from JCPOA?

According to a statement by EU, "JCPOA will ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme will be exclusively peaceful, and mark a fundamental shift in their approach to this issue. They anticipate that the full implementation of this JCPOA will positively contribute to regional and international peace and security. Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons".

(Image: AP)