The EU has submitted a proposal to revive the Iranian nuclear deal at the Vienna talks which would immediately lift sanctions on over 160 Iranian entities if Tehran immediately began scaling back its nuclear activities.
The proposal would take 120 days to implement four phases, with the first day seeing sanctions immediately lifted on 17 Iranian banks and 150 other economic entities. In return Tehran would immediately begin scaling back its nuclear activities in accordance with the agreement.
In addition, $7 billion in Iranian funds presently frozen in South Korea would be released.
During the ensuing 120 days, Iran would be allowed to export 50 million barrels of oil as a “verification mechanism,” before being allowed to increase exports to 2.5 million barrels per day.
The proposal also includes a fine which the United States agrees to pay if it ever pulls out of the agreement in the future. The amount of the fine, or to whom it would be paid has not been revealed.
Iran has issued a written response, however no details about it have been revealed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, “There are three issues that if resolved, we can reach an agreement in the coming days. We have shown enough flexibility… We do not want to reach a deal that after 40 days, two months or three months, fails to be materialized on the ground.”
Iran had previously demanded an end to an International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) investigation into the origins of uranium traces found in Iran, and that America remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from an American list of terrorist organizations. The US said neither option was possible, and Al Jazeera reported Iran is no longer seeking the delisting of the IRGC.
It had been reported by Politico that the EU was pushing for the US to water down sanctions on the IRGC, and that Washington was prepared to, “make greater concessions than expected,” to reach a new deal.
The original agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was jointly signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, UK, France, and Germany, as well as Russia, China, and the EU. It offered Iran cash incentives and economic sanctions relief in return for allowing internationally verified restrictions on its nuclear program. The US withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under President Donald J. Trump. For the past 16 months, talks have been ongoing in Vienna to try and salvage the deal.
