Iranian lawmakers set conditions for revival of nuclear deal Ebrahim Raisi speaks at a political rally in Iran. (Hossein Razaqnejad, Wikimedia Commons released)
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Iranian lawmakers have set their conditions for any revival of the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement, including legal guarantees approved by the U.S. Congress that Washington would not quit it again, Iranian media reported on April 10.
In an open letter to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the lawmakers also said that under a revived pact Washington should not be able to “use pretexts to trigger the snapback mechanism,” under which sanctions on Iran would be immediately reinstated.
The lawmakers also said the “sanctions lifted under the reinstated pact should not be reimposed and Iran should not be hit by new sanctions.”
The statement was signed by 250 out of 290 Iranian parliamentarians. A similar letter was issued by Iranian lawmakers in February.
Iran has been engaged for a year in negotiations with Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly, to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
But the talks in Vienna have now stalled as Tehran and Washington blame each other for failing to take the necessary political decisions to settle remaining issues.
The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran has always denied having any plan to make nuclear weapons.
But the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump and reimposed crippling economic sanctions that prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.
