Talks to save 2015 agreement on brink of collapse as Tehran is also accused of testing missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons
\n WASHINGTON
\nIran has been accused of making \u201cmaximalist demands\u201d in the latest unsuccessful round of talks on reviving the nuclear non-proliferation deal at a grave session of the UN security council in which it was widely acknowledged that the talks \u2013 and the whole 2015 deal \u2013 were on the brink of collapse.
\nIranian and US officials, with the EU acting as mediators, held two days of talks in Doha in a bid to break a months-long impasse, but no progress was made on Iran\u2019s central demand that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from US sanctions and its list of foreign terrorist organisations.
\n\u201cNot only has Iran not taken up the offer on the table, but it also added yet more issues which fall outside the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] with maximalist and unrealistic demands,\u201d the French ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivi\u00e8re, said on Thursday.
\nThe broader talks have been stalled since March, but the recent fresh restrictions placed on UN weapons inspectors \u2013 as well as Iran\u2019s speeding up of uranium enrichment \u2013 has injected a sudden urgency into the crisis. Western leaders will have to take decisive steps including reimposing UN sanctions in weeks if the nuclear inspectorate continues to be unable to carry out its monitoring duties.
\nDuring the special session of the UN security council, Barbara Woodward, the UK envoy, warned Iran that no better deal was going to be offered.
\nOlof Skoog, the EU\u2019s ambassador to the UN, said: \u201cI am concerned that we might not make it over the finishing line. My message is: seize this opportunity to conclude the deal, based on the text that is on the table. The time to overcome the last outstanding issues, conclude the deal and fully restore the [agreement] is now.\u201d
\nThe context of the impasse \u2013 growing Iranian enrichment and ballistic missile activity \u2013 is also concerning European leaders.
\nWoodward warned: \u201cIran\u2019s nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today and Iran\u2019s nuclear escalation is a threat to international peace and security.\u201d
\n\u201cAt the current enrichment rate, by the end of this year, Iran is likely to have enough enriched material to rapidly produce highly enriched uranium at 90% enrichment for several nuclear devices,\u201d she said. \u201cIran also continues to develop ballistic missiles in a way that is inconsistent with UN resolutions.\u201d
\nSign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter \u2013 every weekday morning at 7am BST
\nIn a joint statement, Germany, France and the UK claimed that Iran was testing ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. The statement said: \u201cOnly a few days ago, Iran conducted another test of a space launch vehicle, which contains dual-use technology that can be used to construct long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.\u201d
\nThe Iranian ambassador, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said an agreement was \u201cnot out of reach\u201d but that success required significant changes in US policy, specifically regarding the imposition of sanctions. He also said guarantees were needed that the US would not leave the deal again as they had under Donald Trump in 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talks to save 2015 agreement on brink of collapse as Tehran is also accused of testing missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons WASHINGTON Iran has been accused of making \u201cmaximalist demands\u201d in the latest unsuccessful round of talks on reviving the nuclear non-proliferation deal at a grave session of the UN security council in which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1227,9249,9248],"class_list":{"0":"post-269293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-iran","9":"tag-maximalist-demands","10":"tag-nuclear-deal-talks"},"yoast_head":"\n