Neither Washington nor Tehran ready to sit at negotiating table at this point: Commentator

Sina Azodi, who is also a fellow at the Atlantic Council, told ILNA on Saturday that the looming prospect of the midterm elections in the United States and the recent protests in Iran are reasons for the two countries to pause.

“Neither Iran is ready to give concessions given its domestic developments nor is America ready to offer concessions to Iran given the upcoming elections as well as Iran’s internal issues,” Azodi said.

“So, all sides have paused at this point in time to see how the developments in Iran will play out and how the Congress elections will go and whether Democrats will be able to maintain their majority,” he added.

He said everything will hinge on how those matters will unfold.

The midterm elections in the US are coming up in November. There is widespread belief that the Democrats will fare poorly against a Republican Party dominated by former US President Donald Trump.

Iran, meanwhile, is facing protests over the death of a young woman in the custody of “morality patrol” agents.

Iran and the United States, under President Joe Biden, have been holding indirect negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Trump unilaterally withdrew from that agreement in 2018, significantly hindering its implementation by other sides.

While US officials have said negotiating with Iran over the revival of the nuclear deal is no more a priority, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday that Washington and Tehran had exchanged messages three days earlier and that the US side had asked in its messages that the negotiations be precipitated.