Sabotage at Natanz plants strengthens Iranian position calling for lifting of US sanctions

Vienna hosts the new dialogue table for a return to the nuclear pact

photo_camera PHOTO/REUTERS - Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran

The Austrian capital will be the scene of a new attempt to reconcile positions on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It will come just days after the attempted sabotage of the Natanz nuclear plant, which, according to the Iranian foreign minister, will not benefit the US position at all: "We have no problem in returning to fulfil our JCPOA obligations, but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage are good tools for negotiation and that these actions will only make the situation more difficult for them," he warned.

Following his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, he told a press conference that "it is necessary for the United States to return without delay to its JCPOA commitments and lift all sanctions". On the same occasion, Lavrov told the media that he sees the Iranian position as open to negotiation and that everything depends largely on what the country presided over by Joe Biden does. If they return to the agreement they pulled out of in 2018, says the Russian foreign minister, Tehran will have no problem resuming its responsibilities under the treaty.

Un embargo de armas de la ONU de una década de duración sobre Irán que le impedía comprar armas extranjeras como tanques y aviones de combate

Washington intends to find a way back to the JCPOA, as Biden had been saying for some time, even before he came to the White House. However, as is evident, they do not want to be the first to give in. Just as Iran is asking the United States to remove the restrictions and take the first step, Joe Biden's side is demanding that Tehran respect the agreement reached in 2015 and return to its obligations, in order to then lift the sanctions. The trump card now being played by the Iranians is the attack on the Natanz plant, for which they accuse Israel, which, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Yavad Zarif, "thought that the attack would weaken our hand in the Vienna talks, but on the contrary, it will strengthen it".

The US was quick to deny any responsibility for the Natanz sabotage. It seems quite clear that Israel is behind this attack, which has not yet been claimed. The European Commission is calling for clarification of "what happened and who is behind it". The attack on the plant, although it could have had serious consequences, did not. The blackout occurred in an area of the power distribution network inside the plant, which is about 100,000 square metres in size, with much of it located underground. The only casualty was the spokesman for the Iranian atomic agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, who had to be hospitalised with fractures to his leg and head after a fall.

Although there is no official version of responsibility for the attack on the Natanz plant, Israel's acting prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that they will never allow "Iran to obtain nuclear weapons", adding that they will continue to "defend themselves against Iranian aggression and terrorism", which seems to fit with Iran's accusations. However, Iran has already warned that "retaliation will be carried out at the right time and in the right place", said foreign ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh.

El primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu

In the midst of all the controversy and confrontation between Iran and Israel, Russia has criticised the European Union for what they say is a grave mistake in the midst of the sensitive talks scheduled to take place in Vienna: "If there is any lack of coordination in the EU it is simply regrettable. But if this decision was taken deliberately in the middle of the ongoing talks in Vienna to rescue the JCPOA, then it is not only regrettable, it is a mistake that is worse than a crime," Sergey Lavrov charged harshly.

While Tehran says it is considering the possibility of imposing sanctions on the European countries that were involved, the new meeting seems vital to take a new step towards rescuing the JCPOA from which, since the United States, led by Donald Trump, pulled out in 2018, the whole of international society has been waiting for its return. What is clear is that one of the two sides will have to change its position. The current positions are the same as they have been for a long time and, if nothing changes, it will be very difficult to be optimistic.   

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