European Diplomat Says Gap Widening Between US, Iran Positions

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, "We hope there will be an agreement between the parties to Iran nuclear agreement”.

Qatar’s ruler visited Tehran last week and held meetings with President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. His visit coincided with the presence of EU coordinator of the nuclear talks, Enrique Mora, in Tehran.

Most of Iran's official and semi-official media had downplayed or completely excluded any mention of possible mediation in the nuclear talks by the Emir and instead focused on reporting the Iranian leader and president's remarks about regional issues and Israel.

Earlier in the week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Qatari foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani about Iran, thanking his counterpart for “Qatar’s constructive role in efforts to resolve issues with Iran” as well as its diplomatic assistance with Afghanistan.

Talks in Vienna since April 2021 had reached a critical stage by mid-March when diplomats announced a pause and returned to their capitals.

A major disagreement reportedly remains the US listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’ while Iran has also refused to drop calls for retribution for the US killing IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.

Iran’s embassy in Islamabad issued a statement Friday and dismissed allegations “made in public and in the media without providing any evidence, proof or documents to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran through official means.” The statement called this “completely unprofessional and unacceptable.”

On Thursday, Syed Khurram Ali Shah, a senior official at the Counterterrorism Department in Sindh province, was quoted in a statement claiming that one of two militants – named as ‘Allah Dino’ – killed by Pakistani forces the previous day had been “taking instructions” from an Iranian commander named as Asghar Shah, “who operates his group from Iran, through phone calls, the video of which is available.”

Allah Dino, “an expert in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs)” had received his military training in Iran, the statement read.

At least one person was killed and several injured in the bombing May 12 in the Saddar quarter of Karachi. Responsibility was claimed by the little-known Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA), a group fighting for independence for the south-eastern Sindh. Iran and Pakistan have long traded accusations that the other harbors militants who launch attacks on the neighboring country.

The Texas Republican described the Islamic Republic’s “outrageous demands” as the reason the negotiations to restore the deal have stalled.

He said that “the ayatollahs’ demands are so extreme and so radical” adding that the Biden White House desperately wants a deal at almost any price, “even if it jeopardizes the safety and security of Israel, and even if it jeopardizes the safety and security of the United States".

"I forced a vote on the Senate floor, demanding that terrorism sanctions remain in place on the IRGC, and we won an overwhelming bipartisan victory. The vast majority of Senators, both Republicans and Democrats, voted for my amendment, insisting sanctions remain. I hope that stalls this deal”, he said.

Cruz noted, “The Biden administration had Russia negotiate the deal, Russia as our enemy, Iran as our enemy, and our enemies are sitting at a table together negotiating a deal that hurts America and hurts Israel”.

The eighth round of talks in Vienna which began in late December, came to an abrupt pause in mid-March as major stumbling blocks between Tehran and Washington -- which only negotiates indirectly through the European coordinator of the talks -- remained unresolved.

A major disagreement reportedly remains the US listing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’ while Iran has also refused to drop calls for retribution for the US killing IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.

In his daily briefing, Price was asked about the results of European Union chief negotiator Enrique Mora’s recent trip to Iran, but he avoided giving a clear answer, by insisting that the US does “not negotiate in public.” He reiterated that it is up to Iran to move the stalled negotiations forward.

“Iran needs to decide, as I alluded to before, whether it insists on conditions that are extraneous to the JCPOA, or whether it is ready, willing, and able to conclude the JCPOA, a mutual return to compliance with it, quickly,” Price said most likely referring to Tehran’s demand for removing its Revolutionary Guard from a US list of terrorist organizations.

Price also avoided directly answering a question whether the US agrees with the Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz who said Tuesday that Iran is deploying far more uranium enriching centrifuges than previously estimated. He alluded to the secret nature of intelligence information in avoiding a direct answer.

Asked if a military option against Iran, in cooperation with Israel, is on the table, Price said, “We believe that diplomacy and dialogue affords an opportunity to sustainably and durably and permanently put an end to Iran’s ability to produce or otherwise acquire a nuclear weapon.”

During the Monday phone call, Blinken thanked his counterpart for “Qatar’s constructive role in efforts to resolve issues with Iran” as well as its diplomatic assistance with Afghanistan.

The two also discussed the United States’ strong and growing partnership with Qatar, including opportunities for greater cooperation on regional issues.

Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, visited Tehran last week and held meetings with President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministerial summit in Berlin on Sunday, Blinken also held a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, and French Director General for Political and Security Affairs Philippe Errera to discuss the ongoing negotiations with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Talks in Vienna since April 2021 had reached a critical stage by mid-March, when diplomats announced a pause and returned to their capitals.

A major disagreement reportedly remains the US listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’ while Iran has also refused to drop calls for retribution for the US killing IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.