Iran’s nukesSabotage May Weaken Tehran’s Position in Indirect Talks with U.S.
With the U.S. and Iran planning their second round of indirect nuclear talks in Vienna this week, some analysts say Sunday’s sabotage of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site has weakened the Iranian position, while others contend it all depends on Iran’s response.
With the U.S. and Iran planning their second round of indirect nuclear talks in Vienna this week, some analysts say Sunday’s sabotage of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site has weakened the Iranian position, while others contend it all depends on Iran’s response.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the U.S. expects the indirect talks to proceed in the Austrian capital on Wednesday as scheduled. The two sides held their first round of indirect talks in Vienna from April 6 to 9, with representatives of Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia acting as mediators.
Through the indirect talks, the U.S. and Iran are trying to bring each other back into compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to curb nuclear activities that can be weaponized in return for the U.S. and the other world powers providing sanctions relief. Washington pulled out of the deal and began unilaterally tightening sanctions on Iran in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, and Tehran retaliated a year later by starting to exceed the nuclear limits of the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The diplomatic discussions that have been taking place … we expect them to be difficult and long,” Psaki said. “We have not been given any indication about a change in participation for these discussions.”
Iran has not publicly stated any changes to its plans to participate in the second round of Vienna talks since Sunday’s incident at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Tehran’s top regional rival Israel of sabotaging the nuclear plant’s electricity distribution network, causing a blackout and disrupting operations. He also labeled the incident an act of “nuclear terrorism.”
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the incident. Israeli officials long have said they are prepared to act militarily to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons under the cover of what Tehran calls a civilian energy program. Israel also has vowed to defend itself from Iranian proxy militias near its borders, but officials typically have refrained from confirming involvement in actions against Iran.
Behrooz Bayat, a Vienna-based Iranian former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) consultant, said he believed an explosion had cut off the power to Natanz’s first-generation centrifuges that enrich uranium, a key ingredient in making nuclear bombs.
