Iran Claims "Agreement to Lift US Oil Sanctions"... US Says "No Agreement Reached"

US State Department declines comment... Germany says "There are parts to be resolved"
Nuclear facility near Tehran attacked... Possibility of Israeli involvement raised

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Iranian government announced that the United States has agreed to lift sanctions on Iran in connection with the restoration negotiations of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), but the U.S. and Western parties have stated that no agreement has been reached, raising expectations of controversy.

On the 23rd (local time), Mahmoud Vaezi, Chief of Staff to the Iranian President, said in an interview with Iranian state media, "We have agreed to lift sanctions on insurance, oil, and shipping sectors," adding, "This applies to 1,040 sanctions imposed on individuals and entities in Iran." The semi-official Iranian Mehr News Agency also reported that President Hassan Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting that "major issues for restoring the nuclear deal have been agreed upon, and sanctions could be lifted immediately."

However, the U.S. State Department has not issued any official statement or response regarding these remarks. Major foreign media quoted a senior U.S. State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity as saying, "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."

On the same day, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said, "Progress has been made, but there are still issues to be resolved," and added, "It will also be possible to negotiate with President-elect Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi later," indicating that the negotiations have not yet been concluded.

French Foreign Minister Franck Riester also conveyed a pessimistic outlook on the nuclear deal negotiations at a press conference, stating, "If the negotiations do not progress, difficult decisions will have to be made in the coming days or weeks."

Accordingly, analysts suggest that the Iranian government's optimistic remarks about lifting sanctions on Iran were deliberately made to maintain expectations of a nuclear deal settlement within Iran. It is known that the atmosphere for the collapse of the nuclear deal negotiations has been growing since President-elect Raisi, who has shown an anti-American stance, stated that he has no intention of meeting U.S. President Joe Biden.

Rather, within Iran, suspicions have been raised that Israel may be behind an attack on a nuclear facility near the capital Tehran, which the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization announced on the same day. According to Iran's state-run Press TV, the Atomic Energy Organization stated that a nuclear facility in Karaj, about 40 km from Tehran, was attacked but successfully defended, resulting in no damage, and that they are currently investigating the perpetrators. In April, during a cyberattack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, the Iranian government pointed to Israel as the culprit, and the Israeli government is known to continue opposing the Iran nuclear deal, leading to speculation within Iran that Israel may also be behind this recent attack.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.