Iran’s nuclear issues – not easy to resolve

These are the first talks since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in August. Although all parties professed a constructive attitude prior to the talks, observers tend to be sceptical about the outcome. 

Iran agreed to the negotiations, in the hope of easing economic sanctions as soon as possible to help its struggling economy. Meanwhile, the West wants to use the sanctions to resolve the Iran nuclear issue once and for all and ensure its interest and influence in the Middle East.

EU High Representative for External Affairs, Catherine Ashton speaks  with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (Photo:AFP)

At present, Iran has nearly 7,000 kg of low-enriched uranium, 186 kg of 20% enriched uranium, and 190 kg of uranium oxide to produce fuel rods. Experts say nuclear plants only need low-enriched uranium. But Iran says it needs 20% enriched uranium for nuclear reactors used in medical research. This has become the main reason for the West and Israel to worry that Iran may be secretly enriching uranium at a higher level.

The Iran-P5+1 negotiation this week has two major aims: building trust and moving toward a final agreement.

Prior to the negotiations, Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi insisted that Iran will discuss the quantity, level, and methods of enriching uranium, but will not accept the removal of enriched uranium from its territory. This defiant declaration undercuts the moderate, friendly attitude the Rouhani government has been displaying.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is cautiously watching the Iran nuclear issue. He said no deal is better than a bad deal. Some congressmen in the Republican controlled US House of Representatives oppose easing relations with Iran. They are sceptical of Iran’s sincerity and recently approved tighter sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas sector. The US Senate said that if the White House cannot make any progress by late October, it will discuss new draft sanctions.

The Iran-P5+1 negotiation is under outside pressure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that easing pressure on Iran now would be a "historic mistake". It’s not time to make concessions, he said, but to increase pressure on Iran. He added that “Iran can quickly enrich uranium from a low level of 3.5% to a high level of 90% and is willing today to give up on enrichment to the intermediate level of 20% - which is no longer important to Iran - in exchange for a significant easing of the sanctions".

Over the past 4 years, the public has witnessed the failure of a series of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1. This time, bargaining will be harder and under greater pressure. To avoid yet another breakdown, the negotiators will have to make concessions and adopt a friendlier attitude.