Iran’s actions lessen the prospect of nuclear deal revival: US envoy
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Hashim Sheikh
- . December 5, 2022
- . Update: December 5, 2022 3:41 pm
The United States (US) special envoy on the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that Tehran’s decision to provide arms to Russia in the war against Ukraine and its crackdown on anti-regime protests in the country have lessened the prospects of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
Rob Malley, US Special Representative for Iran, attended a conference in Rome, the capital of Italy. During the conference, Malley said that Iran’s leadership had trapped itself in a “vicious” and “self-reinforcing” cycle in which Iran was excluded from the international community.
He reportedly said, “The more Iran represses, the more there will be sanctions; the more there are sanctions, the more Iran feels isolated.” He further said that if Iran turns to Russia, there would be more sanctions and no nuclear diplomacy.
In a recent interview, Malley also said, “Iran is not interested in a deal and we’re focused on other things. We are trying to disrupt the provision of weapons to Russia and to support the fundamental aspirations of the Iranians.”
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Earlier, Iran demanded an end to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) investigation as part of any resumption of the 2015 nuclear deal. However, Malley and the US rejected this condition.
The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisolsadati, also called on the IAEA to put an end to its investigation of man-made uranium particles found at three undeclared sites in the country.
Last month, IAEA said that Iran was enriching uranium to 60% at the Fordow nuclear site and planned a massive expansion of its enrichment capacity. The IAEA director general, Rafael Grossi, also expressed concern over man-made uranium particles found at three undeclared sites in the country. He also said that such incidents could affect the Iran nuclear deal.
The 2015 nuclear deal was signed by the P5+1 (People’s Republic of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union (EU) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The deal was not successful due to the unilateral exit of the US from the deal.
