TEHRAN, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Positive diplomacy ahead of the Vienna meetings scheduled for Nov. 29 and avoidance of "erosive talks" during the negotiation would help the fruition of the talks, said Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, professor of Iran's Allameh Tabatabai University on international affairs on Friday.
Iran and the world powers will start long-delayed talks over the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in the Austrian capital. Experts from Iran and the P4+1 group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, with the indirect involvement of the United States, will convene to discuss the lift of anti-Iran sanctions and the possible return of Washington to the accord.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO TALKS
Regarding the imminent visit of Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi to Tehran, Falahatpisheh said to Iran's official news agency IRNA that the Iranian side wants to show its goodwill and Grossi's presence shows that Iran is optimistic about the negotiations.
It is expected that with the visit of Grossi, the differences between Iran and the IAEA will be moderated to some extent in practice, he said.
In less than two weeks to the resumption of talks, a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday suggested that Iran has continued the curtail of its commitments to the deal and has abstained from giving access to the IAEA inspectors to monitor the TESA Karaj centrifuge-parts workshop near Tehran.
Iran has stated that it is conducting judicial and security investigations into terrorist acts in TESA and considers the agency's access to the site beyond its legal obligations until this process is completed.
Moderation of differences between Iran and the IAEA does not mean that Iran will start to presently reverse its measures on reduced JCPOA commitments, said Falahatpisheh.
The visit of the IAEA chief to Tehran is part of general diplomacy to provide the psychological atmosphere in which the parties can start the nuclear talks in Vienna with a positive approach, he noted.
Meanwhile, it is necessary for the U.S. to modify some of the sanctions in order to prove its goodwill, as the refrainment from pursuing former President Donald Trump's maximum pressure will "create a more favorable atmosphere for negotiations," he added.
The expert's remarks can be set against recent U.S. sanctions against the Iranian entities and institutions. The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced new sanctions against six Iranian nationals and an Iranian cyber-company for the alleged attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
AVOIDANCE OF EROSIVE TALKS
Following the election of Ebrahim Raisi as Iran's president in June, Iranian officials repeatedly pledged to return to the nuclear talks after reviewing previous negotiations and vowed to start undertaking the suspended JCPOA commitments.
They also warned against the elongation of the possible negotiation process and insisted that any negotiation should be "result-oriented" aimed to remove U.S. sanctions on Iran which were imposed "illegally and oppressively" by Trump.."
Iran and the negotiation parties need a realistic view, and they must reach an agreement without eroding the negotiations, he said.
"In any case, Iran will suffer from the continuation of sanctions," he said, adding that the talks should not be so "erosive" that the positions of the negotiation parties are radicalized.
Meanwhile, the elongated negotiations will cause the role of those who oppose the negotiations, such as Israel, to be strengthened, he warned.
The U.S. government under Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the agreement from May 2019. Enditem
