Vance announces inspectors to return this week; Iran says it accepted no new obligations and insists sanctions relief and Lebanon must come first

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei. [Xinhua]
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei. [Xinhua]

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

As the United States touted Iran's agreement to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country as a major achievement of the ceasefire negotiations, Tehran pushed back Monday, saying it had accepted no new obligations. Washington has emphasized progress on the nuclear front, while Iran has reiterated that stabilizing the Lebanon front and easing sanctions must come first — a divergence that lays bare the gap between the two sides' interpretations of the talks.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that cooperation between Iran and the IAEA "will continue in accordance with existing procedures, based on parliamentary approval and decisions by the Supreme National Security Council," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The statement was a response to US Vice President JD Vance, who announced Sunday after high-level US-Iran talks at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, that Iran had agreed to reinvite IAEA inspectors.

Speaking at a news conference, Vance said IAEA inspection activities were expected to resume within the week, calling it "a first step toward the permanent denuclearization of Iran's nuclear program."

Iran, however, said no additional concessions had been made and no new agreement had been reached on the nuclear issue.

IRNA said the Iranian delegation at the Switzerland talks had not accepted any new nuclear obligations and that substantive nuclear negotiations had not begun.

Iran's position is that the start of nuclear negotiations is contingent on implementation of Article 13 of the ceasefire memorandum of understanding.

Article 13 covers a range of sanctions relief measures, including an end to military hostilities on all fronts — including Lebanon — the lifting of the US maritime blockade, normalization of the Strait of Hormuz, permission to export Iranian crude oil and petrochemical products, and the release of frozen overseas assets.

Iran insists the United States must first deliver on its promised economic incentives and regional security measures before any discussion of the nuclear program can begin.

At the first follow-up talks held in Switzerland, the Lebanon issue emerged as the central agenda item rather than the nuclear program. Iran's negotiating team reaffirmed its stance that "there will be no negotiations on other topics as long as the war in Lebanon has not ended," and the two sides focused their discussions on establishing a framework to prevent conflict in Lebanon and ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Whether the nuclear verification and denuclearization talks Washington is hoping for can get on track anytime soon remains unclear, analysts say.


sjy@heraldcorp.com