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The EU has reportedly put forward the “final text” to be signed to return Iran to a renewed JCPOA agreement.
This comes after world powers reconvened in Vienna last week for fresh nuclear agreement talks for the first time since March. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted that “what can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it’s now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals”, and added that “if these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal”.
Previously, a senior EU official said that Iran has agreed to restart talks following guarantees from the United States that it would not damage the deal by going back on its word, as it had done under the previous Trump Administration. The EU official stated: “We now have substantial guarantees…It’s my understanding Iran is happy and feels satisfied with what is in the text”. Iran had originally demanded the U.S. remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its terror backlist, but this demand has now been dropped in the negotiations and will instead be looked at “in the future” after a potential deal.
Explaining the finalised text, a senior EU official told reporters that no more changes could be made to the text which is a “package proposal”, meaning that “you cannot agree with page 20 and disagree with page 50. You have to say yes or no”. The text has been under negotiation for 15 months, and it is understood the EU expects a final decision from the parties within a “very, very few weeks”.
