By Ali Kucukgocmen, John Irish, Ahmed Elimam, Jana Choukeir and Jun Yuan Yong
ISTANBUL, July 25 (Reuters)
Iran and its accompanying nuclear program have been quite the discussion point recently on the international front. One of the key points seems to be the potential to develop forms of nuclear weapons. This as military action and diplomatic tensions seem to be at the order of the day.
Some very sensitive worldwide issues
Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after “serious, frank, and detailed” conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran’s consulate for talks that the U.N. nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterward that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue.
Europe’s considerations on all these matters
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal – from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 – which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program. A deadline of Oct. 18 is fast approaching when the resolution governing that deal expires. At that point, all U.N. sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the “snapback” mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before.
This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defense. The “snapback” mechanism itself forms of the JCPOA or Joint Comprehensive Action framework. Its establishment is meant to monitor Iran’s nuclear program. This allows for the UN sanctions to be reinstated against Iran when a signatory alleges violations.
Hydrocarbons themselves are organic chemical compounds. They are mostly composed exclusively out of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Hydrocarbons form the basis of natural gas, crude oil and coal. It is regarded as a very effective source of fuel. To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of the end of August to revive diplomacy.
Some explosive nuclear issues that need to be talked about
Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six months. Iran would need to make commitments on key issues including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kg (880 pounds) of near-weapons–grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month’s strikes.
Before the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 to be “meaningless and baseless”. IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which U.S. President Donald Trump said had “obliterated” a program that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear program is meant solely for civilian purposes. The whole nuclear matter seems to be constant reality. In the energy realm, nuclear power is a favored option due to the fact that maintenance is far less than on some other energy sources. With nuclear weapons, the opinions on this are as widespread and varying.