Any nuclear deal must respect Iran’s red lines

Any agreement with six world powers on Tehran’s nuclear energy program must conform to Iran's red lines, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says.

“The [Iranian] negotiating team clearly knows more than others that any agreement not respecting the [Islamic] Establishment’s red lines would be invalid,” Afkham said on Tuesday.

She added that Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany have not reached any agreement on any issue so far.

“So far, no agreement has been reached on any issue and the only agreement is about the name and title of the final agreement, which is called the ‘Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action’,” Afkham said.

She emphasized that the Iranian negotiators are completely aware of Iran’s redlines and are “obligated to observe them with precision and sensitivity.”

Iran and the six countries are in talks to work out a final deal aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program as a November 24 deadline approaches.

Sources close to the Iranian negotiating team say the main stumbling block in the way of resolving the Western dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program remains to be the removal of all the bans imposed on the Islamic Republic and not the number of centrifuges or the level of uranium enrichment.

Tehran wants the sanctions entirely lifted while Washington, under pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby, insists that at least the UN-imposed sanctions should remain in place.