Borrell 'less optimistic' about reaching Iran nuclear deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Sep 2022 21:13

The EU foreign policy chief feels less optimistic than he did 28 hours back from when he made his statement.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers at the Prague Congress Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Foreign policy chief for the European Union, Josep Borrell, said he's feeling less optimistic about reaching a quick agreement on reviving the Iran nuclear deal compared to just a day or so ago.

“I am sorry to say that I am less confident today than 28 hours before … about the prospects of closing the deal right now,” he told reporters in Brussels, according to Reuters.

In August, the EU put forward a "final text" for a deal renewal, to which Tehran responded last week. Borrell described the response as "reasonable."

“Israel” leads campaign to prevent US from signing nuclear deal

Yesterday, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said “Israel” will continue to add pressure on the US not to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, but not to the point of causing a diplomatic crisis.

Lapid spoke the day before Mossad chief David Barnea was scheduled to leave for Washington to speak to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about the “Iranian threat and the dangers of a nuclear deal”, and several days after the Israeli PM reportedly spoke with US President Joe Biden about the Iran deal.

On the other hand, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed last week, "our peaceful nuclear capability is our right, and no one can obstruct Iran from preserving this right," adding that "the Zionist entity never wanted it [Iran] to obtain the technology, but it got it against their will."

The Israeli occupation exerted strained efforts to sway the US from an agreement to return to the landmark 2015 deal with Tehran, yet it is attempting not to overplay its hand in order to avoid straining relations with the Biden administration the way Netanyahu did with the Obama administration at the time of signing of the first nuclear deal.