Discussions to save the international Iran nuclear deal ended last week in Vienna on a positive note.
They resume Thursday, April 15, but in the meantime, Tehran's decision to enrich uranium up to 60% has thrown a chill.
By approaching the 90% necessary for military use, the Islamic Republic
"puts pressure on everyone"
, summarizes a European diplomat.
After a good start,
"it is true that it complicates things"
, he said before a new meeting of the states parties to the agreement (Germany, France, United Kingdom, China, Russia and Iran), scheduled for 12:30 pm local hour.
Read also: Iran: the Natanz uranium enrichment plant damaged by a new "accident"
How to react ?
This is the question that arises behind the scenes, while President Hassan Rouhani reaffirmed Wednesday that his country's atomic ambitions were exclusively
“peaceful”
.
The imminent crossing of this unprecedented 60% threshold is intended as a
"response"
to
Israel's
"nuclear terrorism"
, after the explosion on Sunday in the Natanz enrichment plant, argues Tehran, which openly accuses Israel of having sabotaged this factory.
Berlin, Paris and London have warned against any escalation,
"by any country,"
while saying Iran's announcement of the launch of 60% enrichment is a
"serious development (.. .) contrary to the constructive spirit ”
of the discussions.
"Dangerous spiral"
But Moscow prefers to see it as a sign that we must act quickly.
"This proves that the reestablishment of the JCPOA"
, an English acronym which commonly refers to the agreement reached in 2015 in the Austrian capital,
"is the only viable solution to bring the Iranian nuclear program back
on track", the ambassador wrote on Twitter. Russian to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Oulianov.
Iran repeated it on Wednesday: to stop this
"dangerous spiral"
, the United States must lift the sanctions imposed by American President Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from this agreement in 2018. The JCPOA had allowed a reduction in punitive measures against the Islamic Republic in exchange for a drastic reduction in its nuclear activities, under the control of the UN, in order to guarantee that it does not seek to acquire the atomic bomb.
Read also: Nuclear: Iran intensifies uranium enrichment
This is one of the subjects on which the experts are working in Vienna, under the aegis of the European Union (EU), with the indirect participation of an American delegation, housed in another hotel.
"We are focused on the diplomatic path to move forward,"
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the day before the resumed talks.
"We know it will be a long process, but we see
(these discussions)
as a positive sign
.
"
"We believe that we can move things forward in a constructive way, even if they are indirect negotiations
,
"
said Jen Psaki, interviewed during a briefing on the role of the United States in the Vienna process.
Loser loser
"The events of recent days remind each party that the status quo is synonymous with loser loser for both camps"
and
"reinforce the urgency"
, commented to AFP Ali Vaez, specialist in the Iranian file within the center International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.
"It is clear that the longer the diplomatic process drags on, the greater the risk that it will be hampered by saboteurs and malicious people
,
" he
added, while Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that he would not allow the discussions to drag on
"in length"
.
There are many obstacles, however, and defining a roadmap acceptable to Iran and the United States, the two enemy powers, will take time, experts warn.
Read also: Iran, a new pawn of Chinese realpolitik
In the meantime, Tehran is reducing its “breakout time”, ie the time to acquire the fissile material necessary for the manufacture of a bomb, worries the European diplomat.
"The sky will not fall on our heads the day after the start of enrichment of 60% uranium by Iran," said
Ali Vaez,
"but concerns will increase as soon as they have accumulated a significant amount. of matter ”
. According to him, over the past two decades
"only diplomacy has proven effective in containing Iran's nuclear program"
, while
"sanctions or sabotage"
have consistently failed.
