Iran’s FM says already sought single-step nuclear deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said what he had been considering during the nuclear talks with P5+1 was in line with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s view on the two-stage nuclear agreement.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Wednesday, Zarif said he was delighted to know that Ayatollah Khamenei had the same view about a long-awaited nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

He made the comments amid huge rallies in commemoration of the 36th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution victory.

Earlier on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei made it clear that any nuclear deal between Iran and world powers should be implementable, stressing that “no deal will be better than a bad one,” including a two-stage agreement.

The Leader expressed outright opposition to the idea of a two-stage nuclear deal, which entails consensus on the generalities at first and requires agreement on details at a later time.

“Such a deal is not acceptable, because our experience of the opposite side’s behavior shows that mere agreement on the generalities will become a tool for making successive excuses over details.”

“If there is to be any deal, it must have a single stage and include generalities and details together,” the Leader explained.

Zarif then reiterated that a final nuclear deal requires a “political will” to be shown by the other negotiating sides.

With the necessary determination, a deal could be clinched right now, otherwise, even 10 years of talks will be fruitless, the top Iranian diplomat explained.