Iranian MP optimistic about nuclear deal revival

Yaghoub Rezazadeh, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, told Entekhab news website, “We’ve had progress in up to 70 to 80 percent of the points we’ve proposed to the European parties during the negotiations. There are a few remaining issues that are being resolved.”

The remarks came days after negotiating teams of the latest round of talks held in the Austrian capital Vienna to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) headed back home for consultations on a text presented by the European Union’s coordinator Enrique Mora after four days of intensive talks.

The talks have been held to lift sanctions against Iran and bring the United States back to the fold after its unilateral pullout from the deal in 2018 under former US president Donald Trump.

Iran presented its views regarding the sticking points to revive the agreement during the talks, but says the final decision on the text will be made after a thorough review of the text.

Rezazadeh said, “The other parties have asked for some time to decide on the proposals we have presented and announce the results.”

One of the last remaining points of contention to strike a deal and restore the JCPOA is the removal of sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), as “the main foundation of our armed forces and a source of power in the world,” according the lawmaker.

He said the West would eventually have to accept the IRGC as part of Iran’s armed forces and backtrack on its stance.