Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21
By Saeed Isayev - Trend:
Such negotiations as Iran and P5+1 are never based on trust but on interest, Senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, James M. Dorsey told Trend.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.
Iran and the P5+1 group on Jan. 20 have started to implement an agreement that was reached on Nov. 24, 2013, regarding Iran's nuclear program. While Iran has agreed to significantly cut down its uranium enrichment, while in return it would be getting a relief from sanctions for a six-month period.
The same day, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi said that one of the members of P5+1 countries was insisting that IAEA inspectors should remain in Iran for six months permanently, but IAEA said that there is not need for that.
Commenting on whether such move would've been seen as distrust, Dorsey agreed that it could be a signal of distrust.
"While a permanent IAEA presence over the next six months is not an indispensable and essential action, it would certainly enhance confidence and strengthen Iran's negotiating position," he said.
"It would likely be hard to sell to Iranian hardliners without the P5+1 sweetening it with some substantial concession on sanctions, which the Western powers for their part would find difficult to sell at home," Dorsey underscored.
On Jan. 20, the EU has agreed to suspend some economic sanctions against Iran as part of a ground-breaking nuclear deal under which Tehran has scaled back its nuclear work. The decision included softening restrictions on trade in petrochemicals and precious metals and on the provision of insurance for oil shipments, among other measures.
The same day, Reuters reported citing the U.S. Treasury Department that the country eased some sanctions on Iran, pausing efforts to reduce Iranian crude oil exports, as part of a nuclear deal.
The Treasury Department said that now that Iran has fulfilled its initial nuclear commitments under the deal, "the administration has taken the necessary steps to pause efforts to further reduce Iranian crude oil exports."
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