Ghalibaf: Guarantees from West necessary to revive nuclear agreement
Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly President says that some issues in the Vienna talks have been resolved but necessary guarantees are still pending.
Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly President, Muhammad Bagher Qalibaf, spoke in a closed council session on Sunday about the ongoing negotiations in Vienna on the nuclear agreement.
Qalibaf stressed the need to obtain guarantees from the West to revive the agreement, calling for the preservation of Iran's nuclear infrastructure in the event an agreement happens.
The official added that although some challenges related to the agreement were resolved, major guarantees are still pending.
Qalibaf indicated that the International Atomic Energy Agency raises new issues despite resolving some issues related to the agreement.
He believed that the commitments of Iran and the West should be balanced and logical and that they should be finally approved by the relevant institutions.
On Saturday, Qalibaf participated in the meeting of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, where the latest developments in the Vienna negotiations and proposals were discussed.
According to the Iranian Noor News agency, during the meeting, the council communicated the need to meet Iran's logical legal demands within the frameworks of Tehran's red lines.
Ali Bagheri Khani, the chief Iranian negotiator, is headed to Vienna with Tehran's agenda to follow up on talks and resolve outstanding issues that constitute important limitations before reaching an agreement.
In a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Saturday, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell pointed out that the negotiations had reached a critical stage and required serious decisions by all parties.
It is noteworthy that Amir-Abdollahian had revealed a few days ago that "we’ve never been so close to such a deal."
However, Bagher Kani tweeted on his flight back to Tehran for consultations on the talks that "no matter how close we are to the finish line, there is not necessarily a guarantee to cross it."