Guards-Affiliated Iran Newspaper Sees Positive Signs In Nuclear Talks

Javan newspaper in Tehran proclaimed Saturday a "positive atmosphere" in Iran’s Vienna talks with world powers, shifting from its previous downbeat reporting.

Under the headline "Vienna Positive, Moving Forward" across its front page, the newspaper, which is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), wrote that it appeared “the western sides of the Vienna talks have entered the negotiation room from a different door this time and have adopted an approach…different from the past.”

The change had come, the paper noted, with the second round of talks with the new team of negotiators appointed by President Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi), who took office in August: "Until last week European officials and diplomats leveled accusations against Iran and expressed doubt about reaching an agreement in the talks.”

Javan also claimed Robert Malley, the White House Iran envoy, had “reduced the extent of his attacks." It quoted Malley's remark Fridaythat reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would be the in "mutual interests" of both the United States and Iran.

European and US officials gave pessimistic media briefings after the first week of the resumed talks when Iran presented new written proposals for restoring the deal. The US, which left the JCPOA in 2018 and imposed ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions on Iran, takes part indirectly in Vienna.

A ‘European source’ told Reuters Friday that negotiators were still working on texts discussed five months ago during talks held when President Hassan Rouhani was still in office. According to Reuters’ source, Iran this week agreed to continue talks from where they left off in June – a matter that would be put to the test in “the next couple of days.”

Tasnim news agency, also affiliated with the IRGC, said Friday that Iran’s negotiating stance had not changed in a week, and quoted ‘a source close to the Iranian negotiation team’ that talks were based on Iran's recent proposals.

President Ebrahim Raisi Saturday outlined Tehran's approach in remarks quoted by the official news agency IRNA: "Some people claimed the Islamic Republic would not negotiate, others alleged that we wouldn't be serious in the talks…But the Islamic Republic took part in the talks with dignity and by offering texts demonstrated that it is serious in negotiations… a good agreement is possible if the US is serious about the lifting of its sanctions.”

But Raisi warned that “the enemy's strategy is to always keep the shadow of the sanctions over the Iranian people's heads and to expand it.”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Friday that he had told senior US officials in Washington that Israel considered Iran not only a threat to Israel but "a global problem that requires a global solution." Israel recently allocated $1.5 billion for a military attack on Iran.