Chattanooga Times Free Press

As Iran nuclear talks hit snags, Israel seeks a harder U.S. line

BY JOSEF FEDERMAN

JERUSALEM — The long-delayed resumption of nuclear talks with Iran has gotten off to a rough start — with Iran digging in and its negotiating partners openly voicing frustration and pessimism.

After five days of talks in Vienna ended last week, the United States said Iran did not appear to be serious. European diplomats accused Iran of backtracking on previous promises. Even Russia, which has stronger relations with Iran, questioned Iran’s commitment to the process. Israel, an outside observer with a stake in the outcome of the talks, has ramped up its rhetoric and is dispatching two top security officials to Washington for consultations.

“I call on every country negotiating with Iran in Vienna to take a strong line and make it clear to Iran that they cannot enrich uranium and negotiate at the same time,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday. “Iran must begin to pay a price for its violations.”

Perhaps the most encouraging outcome of last week’s talks was an agreement to continue talking. When negotiators reconvene in coming days, it could become clearer if the wide gaps visible last week were a sign of posturing or a serious crisis.

The negotiations seek to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers. That agreement, spearheaded by President Barack Obama, granted Iran relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But three years later, President Donald Trump, with strong encouragement from then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from the deal, causing it to unravel. Since then, Iran has stepped up its nuclear activities — amassing a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that goes well beyond the bounds of the accord.

Iran last week took a hard stance, suggesting everything discussed in previous rounds of diplomacy could be renegotiated. In the midst of the negotiations, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium up to 20% purity at its underground facility at Fordo — a site where enrichment is not permitted under the deal.

Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only, the continued advances in its atomic program have further raised the stakes.

Last week’s talks in Vienna came after a hiatus of more than five months and were the first in which Iran’s new hard-line government participated. The United States, no longer a party to the agreement, was not in the room and negotiated remotely through mediators.

NATION/WORLD/POLITICS

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2021-12-06T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-06T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.timesfreepress.com/article/281603833755415

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