10 months and a week after he was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden is going to settle for probably his most dramatic move against Iran so far: the round of talks on the future of the nuclear deal that will begin this coming Monday in Vienna.
Officially the US is no longer a part of it since the previous president retired in 2018, but on a practical level Iran has also stopped maintaining it because it has systematically violated all restrictions on the amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to hold its rank - it is already rich enough enriched uranium To a degree of, 60% so that if you want, you can reach the threshold required to create an atomic bomb within a month according to publications in the global media.
>> Biden has brought the full handful of Obama-era illusions into policy with Iran |
Interpretation <<
Unlike previous rounds, the hotel chosen this time for the talks is the Pala Coburg Hotel, a historic palace built on the ruins of a fortress that protected the city.
By the way, the area where the hotel is located is called "Herzlplatz (Herzl Square)".
Talks are raging about the city during one of the hardest times Austria has known: it is the first in Europe to return to total closure because of the surge that has taken place on the continent in the Corona cases (even before the discovery of the Omicron variant).
The closure made the city desolate in parts of it, though Austrians continued to frequent the large squares to aspire to a bit of the Christmas atmosphere.
This is despite the fact that there are no Christmas markets and all the shops are almost closed.
The exceptions that remain open are the cafes (for takeaway and reservations only), supermarkets and other necessary shops.
The moment of the decision of the President of the United States. Biden with the President of Iran Raisi against the background of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Photo: AP, AFP
From the feeling on the street, it seems that the vast majority of Viennese are not at all aware of what will happen on Monday, even if they are - they are not excited at all.
The owner of a Turkish shawarma stand was surprised to hear that it was happening this week in the city.
A salesman at the optician's shop knew about the luxurious hotel, but did not know that the talks would take place there.
He was a little embarrassed and admitted: "We are all here preoccupied with any quarantine that came suddenly, and even before that there was all the political drama with the Chancellor (Sebastian Kurtz who was forced to resign on suspicion of corruption offenses; AL). But the answer is of course more complex (the 2015 agreement was never signed, but anchored in a UN resolution), and again apologized for forgetting the whole issue.
Another business owner wondered aloud how to let the calls take place despite any closure.
He explained that hotels are only allowed to accommodate business people who come to work.
He speculates that this is why the talks are taking place despite the closure.
The Austrians are quite indifferent.
Preparations at a hotel in Vienna where the nuclear talks will take place, Photo: Erez Lin
He explained that they probably did not want to create a diplomatic entanglement "and that is why they (the negotiating teams; AL) received a special permit" to continue the talks.
Not far from the hotel a saleswoman at a chocolate boutique said they did not talk at all about the round of talks in recent news "because they have now discovered the new variant."
Back to the political dialogue.
Iran and the United States will not hold direct talks, because as stated, the United States is not part of the agreement and therefore will not be able to participate in the official committee that discussed its issues.
So the Europeans will actually mediate against the Americans (who are not sure if they will be physically in the same hotel).
The US is interested in a formula in which both parties will return to the agreement at the same time, but at the same time insists on holding talks with a long-term agreement that addresses all issues not included in the original agreement (such as terrorism and missiles). The administration, too, wants compensation for President Trump's retirement in May 2018.
The Iranian delegation reported today that the Iranian delegation arrived with an impressive presence of at least 40 people, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bakri Kani, a few days after meeting with IAEA (UN Atomic Energy Agency) chairman Rafael Grossi to discuss ways to prevent A total collapse of supervision.
At the moment at least it seems that the IAEA is "not breaking the tools", in order to give one last chance to renew the agreement.
In the current situation the IAEA does not have access to the surveillance cameras (it will only receive the recordings after the agreement is completed), and at one site - Carage - there are no cameras at all because of the sabotage incident there. The big question is whether Biden intends to fight to upgrade the agreement 2015 (maybe even just parts of it). The US president does not have much time left, as if trends in the US continue, in the mid-2022 elections he is expected to lose control of both houses of Congress. Sanctions against Iran.
Bennett on the struggle against Iran: "Hopefully the world will not blink, there may be disagreements even with the best of our members" // Photo: From the YouTube channel of the Institute for Policy and Strategy
Iran hopes that all tensions with the IAEA will be forgotten if the US removes the sanctions and waives clauses to upgrade the agreement, then the Islamic Republic will be able to say that in Herzlplatz in Vienna it re-established the nuclear program.
Fixed!
If you find an error in the article, we will be happy for you to share with us and we will correct it
