Iran nuclear draft goes against US red lines: Israeli media

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The Israeli occupation's government on Thursday sent a message to the Biden administration saying that the EU draft resolution on the Iran nuclear deal, which is being discussed with Iran, crosses the red lines set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid conveyed a message to the White House today, in which he confirmed that the draft European Union agreement being discussed with Iran goes beyond the limits of the 2015 nuclear agreement, and does not comply with the red lines set by the Biden administration," an Israeli official told the Israeli Walla! newspaper.

"Lapid's message comes amid a feeling in the Israeli government that President Biden and senior White House officials are not fully aware of the concessions that were included in the new draft EU agreement granted to Iran," Walla! reported.

"Tel Aviv" is using private communications and media to influence the decisive talks currently taking place, the Israeli media outlet said, as the Biden administration is discussing whether or not to return to the nuclear agreement based on the EU draft.

Lapid met on Thursday with US Representative Ted Deutch, Chairman of the Middle East Subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, and US Ambassador Tom Nides. The three officials discussed the issue of the Iranian nuclear deal.

"Lapid's message was that the draft nuclear agreement with the European Union - announced as a final offer - did not adhere to the principles followed by the Biden administration itself and includes more concessions to Iran than the original 2015 text," the Israeli official told the media outlet.

"When the EU draft was sent to Iran, it was an offer in a take-or-leave format, but when the Iranians sent their response, they did not accept that; they asked for more concessions," he added.

"The time has come to talk about what should be done in the future in order to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," Lapid said during the meeting, as quoted by the official.

The European Union proposed easing sanctions on Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in order to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA, Politico reported on Friday.

The proposal, brokered by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in coordination with US officials, is not seeking the suspension of sanctions against the IRGC but may "significantly limit their effectiveness," the news outlet said.

Read next: Iran will not drop demand of removing IRGC from 'terror list'

If the draft resolution is adopted, it would allow companies in the European Union to do business in Iran, evading US and EU sanctions. 

President Biden dismissed in April a demand from Iran for him to reverse a decision taken by the Trump administration in 2019 to label the IRGC a "terrorist organization". A group of US senators in May signed a resolution declaring that the US should not agree to any deal that would entail the lifting of sanctions on Iran.

Major powers and Iran are holding talks in Vienna with the aim of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement and returning the United States to it following Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, who accompanied his decision with the imposition of harsh sanctions on Tehran.

In response, Iran gradually withdrew from its commitments under the JCPOA, seeing that the agreement was no longer binding.