TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker has said that the United States' behavior in the talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal has caused the negotiations to slow down.

The lawmaker, Rouhullah Abbaspur, said the Iranian body politic, in general, is willing to continue the talks given their logical approach. 

“The whole establishment, the government, and the Majlis, while making efforts to neutralize sanctions, are willing to negotiate considering their logical approach and they never abandoned and will not abandon the negotiating table,” he told Fars News.
 
He added, “Iran's policy and approach are clearly and logically expressed in the negotiations, but what brings the negotiations to the final result is the behavior of the negotiating parties. Because the behavior of the enemy in this field is not predictable.”

Abbaspur noted that the European countries and Joe Biden's administration urgently need Iranian oil and gas due to the approaching U.S. congressional elections and also the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has presented major challenges in supply of energy, especially gas, to the West.

“On this basis, they are willing to continue negotiations,” he averred. 

He stated, “In America, the achievements of the government in the area of foreign policy are always very important and influential in the election, and one of the most important achievements is the discussion of negotiations with Iran, so the president of the United States needs more success in the negotiations.”

The lawmaker pointed out, “The American administration is in agreement with Congress on the way of negotiations, but the Senate, whose ‘majority’ is with the Republicans, does not want the success of the Democratic government in the negotiations.”

He added, “Seventy Zionist pressure and lobby groups are active in America, which influence the foreign policy of the United States and are against the negotiations coming to fruition. For this reason, the policy and behavior of the United States in the upcoming negotiations cannot be predicted.”
He said, “Recently, the officials of the European Union assessed the negotiations as progressing because the approach and policy of our country is clear. But because the American policy is unpredictable, the negotiations are progressing slowly. It is necessary for the Biden administration to make a wise decision regarding the outcome of the negotiations.”

More than a week has passed since Iran submitted its response to a U.S. response to the “final text” submitted by the European Union coordinator for the Vienna talks, which aims to resuscitate the tattered nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Kanaani announced more than a week ago that Iran had submitted its views on America’s response to the draft of a possible agreement on the removal of sanctions.

“After receiving the U.S. response, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s team of experts precisely reviewed it, and Iran’s responses were drafted and submitted to the coordinator on Thursday night (Sept. 8) following evaluations at different levels,” the official said.

“The submitted text has a constructive approach with the goal of finalizing the negotiations,” the spokesman added.

The United States was quick to respond. It described the Iranian response as unconstructive. Since then, U.S. officials have repeated this, accusing Iran of derailing the conclusion of the talks, a charge Iran denies. 

After a bout of Iran-bashing remarks, the U.S. plunged into silence as to when it would respond to the Iranian response. In the meantime, press reports alleged that the conclusion of the talks could be delayed until after the November congressional elections in the U.S. and Israel.

On Saturday, the three European countries that are participants in the Vienna talks issued a joint statement accusing Iran of presenting demands that are delaying the conclusion of the talks, a charge Iran denies. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has reacted to the unconstructive statement of the European troika regarding the sanctions removal talks that is in breach of goodwill.

Kanaani said it is surprising and regrettable that under the current circumstances when diplomatic interactions and exchange of messages continue between the negotiating sides and the coordinator of the Vienna talks to finalize the negotiations, the European troika issues such a communiqué in a move that deviates from the path of the fruitful approach during the talks.