You see a page from the old site of Iran International that is no longer updated. Visit iranintl.com to view the new site.

Iranian Media, Officials See Negotiations With US Taking A Long Time

Media reports and analysis featured by various outlets in Iran since mid-March indicate that Iran might have decided to postpone decision-making on negotiations with the United States to sometime after the presidential election in June.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei's statement on Sunday reiterating that Iran is not in a hurry to decide on the fate of the country's nuclear deal with world powers could be taken as endorsement of the decision to postpone negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program and its security implications for the region.

Semi-official news agency ISNA featured an interview with political analyst Kourosh Ahmadi on Monday March 22 in which he speculated whether US President Joe Biden is waiting for the outcome of Iran's presidential election before deciding to negotiate to broker a return to the nuclear deal.  

Ahmadi said it appears that before Biden took office the entire ruling establishment in Iran, meaning Khamenei and his hardline supporters as well as the centrist administration of President Hassan Rouhani, were optimistic that returning to the JCPOA and forging a deal with Iran would be one of Biden’s first priorities.  The reason for the optimism was that a settlement with Donald Trump was impossible for Iran and they pinned their hopes on a quick agreement with Biden. But events since then showed that the US side has certain conditions and a lifting of sanctions will not be a quick process.

He also added that the Biden administration is not counting on the Iranian election as its officials know that the president does not have the final say in international matters and it is Khamenei who makes the decisions on the nuclear issue.

Khamenei's new year message also did not contain anything that would suggest he wants a deal with the US as soon as possible. On the contrary, he said he was not in a hurry and even suggested to Rouhani to make plans in a way as if US sanctions are here to stay for a long time.

Meanwhile, reformist figure Hossein Kamali acknowledged in an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Monday that the sanctions have badly damaged Iran's economy. Kamali criticized Khamenei's hardline supporters for obstructing the ratification of legislations demanded by international watchdog FATF, adding further hurdles for Iran in international trade. Nonetheless, Kamali was still optimistic about Biden’s intention to solve the nuclear dispute and blamed the Iranian side for the impasse in negotiations.

On the contrary, following up on what Khamenei said in his New Year statement, IRGC-linked news agency Tasnim ran a commentary on Monday that suggested Iran's plans for the future should be made based on the assumption that US sanctions are going to continue for a long time.

Tasnim also suggested that Iran should opt for an economic strategy to nullify the sanctions; an ill-defined jargon Khamenei has been recently using instead of "circumventing" the sanctions. The Tasnim commentary also shed very little if any light on the matter, leaving it as a mere slogan echoing Khamenei’s words.

In a letter to the public, former President Mohammad Khatami criticized Khamenei for having too much power without any responsibility and called on him to change his policy to make life easier for the nation. However, Khamenei's statement on Sunday showed that he was not impressed by the well-wishing suggestion.

Less than a week before the Iranian New Year, the Tehran Times wrote in a commentary that "diplomacy, as an efficient tool to resolve problems, has been undermined in the recent history of Iran's foreign relations. It has been done through creating many impediments and blockages for Iran in areas of diplomacy."

Ironically, Khamenei has named the Iranian New Year "the year of eliminating the impediments," mindless of the fact that many see him as the biggest impediment to diplomacy with the West and solving Iran's back-breaking economic problems.

Iran in Brief
City officials in Iran's capital Tehran are planning to put locks on large waste containers in the streets to prevent garbage pickers from accessing waste.More
The Biden Administration has confirmed to the US Congress that sanction imposed by its predecessor on Iran have drastically reduced Iran's trade with the world.More
The UK government said on Sept 20 that Britain would "not rest" until all its dual nationals being held in Iran were returned home.More
President Ebrahim Raisi’s vice president in women’s affairs has refused to support an age limit in child marriage, a controversial issue in Iran.More
In first news about detained Iranian dissident rap singer Toomaj, Iran International has learned that was arrested by the intelligence ministry.More