No Chance for Removal of All Sanctions

12 November 2014 | 12:17 Code : 1940721 Interview General category

An interview with Dr. Ali Bigdeli, a university professor and expert on international affairs

Iran’s negotiating team insists on the lifting of all sanctions. Based on the primary agreement, if an agreement is reached, is it possible that all sanctions adopted by the Security Council would be lifted?

No. There are more important obstacles right now and perhaps it was the mistake of the Iranian team that stated that the comprehensive agreement would be reached when all sanctions were lifted. This is Iran’s demand but the US officials have stated several times that there is no possibility for the lifting of all sanctions. There are even differences with regard to the timing of the lifting of sanctions. The other party has considered 11 to 18 years while the Iranian team has talked about less than ten years. The problem between Iran and the US is that the lifting of all sanctions after the signing of the comprehensive agreement is not possible. Therefore, it is proposed that the comprehensive agreement be signed so that it would not be delayed for after January. It must be considered that the US officials have set several conditions for the lifting of sanctions: the simultaneous lifting of one-third of the sanctions which are related to the nuclear issues, the remaining of one-third of the sanctions which are related to the human rights and Iran’s interference in other countries. It is not possible that all sanctions be lifted and the Iranian delegation should not involve itself in this matter so that the possibility of signing an agreement would not be lost.

What will the situation of the nuclear dossier be if Iran’s demands are not met?

This case will be resolved but on the condition that we do not insist on the lifting of all sanctions. Right now agreements have been made with regard to the centrifuges and extra yellow cake. The current problem is about the insistence in order to receive maximum concessions, but the other side will never give such concessions to Iran. If Iran’s insistence reaches a point where the nuclear dossier would be further negotiated in the future, then the task would be more difficult for Iran after January.

The US has stated that the Security Council resolutions will not create problems for Iran. But why does Iran insist on the lifting of these sanctions?

Sanctions are imposed against Iran by the Congress, the US administration, the European Union and the Security Council. The possibility of the lifting of sanctions by the US administration and the EU is high. At the present time, the problem is related to the bank and oil issues. It would be a big mistake if we relate the signing of an agreement to the lifting of sanctions, although the Iranian delegation is aware of this issue. That is why I believe that we should agree with this issue. Probably, the issue of human rights will be proposed by the Europeans after that which might create a challenge for Iran. Thus, we must have a new outlook on the issue of human rights.

Germany and France have stated that if a nuclear agreement is reached, then they will put the issue of human rights on our agenda. Is this the reason behind the negotiating team’s insistence on the lifting of Security Council resolutions?

The Iranian team has stated that the sanctions are not related to the issues of human rights but to nuclear issues. On the other hand, the US officials say that a long time has been spent on the adoption of sanctions, thus, now that Iran is behind the negotiating table all issues must be resolved. This is an issue of difference. The Iranian delegation reiterated that the nuclear issue must not be linked to other issues. Iran needs sanctions to be lifted but insisting on the lifting of all sanctions will not be effective because there is no possibility of doing so.