“The Iranian negotiators interrupted the talks with the P5+1 [Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany] for consultations in Tehran,” the Islamic Republic New Agency (IRNA) reported Friday.
AFP reported Friday that the decision to halt the talks came hours after Washington blacklisted a dozen overseas companies and individuals for evading US sanctions on Iran.
“Today’s actions should be a stark reminder to
businesses, banks and brokers everywhere that we will continue
relentlessly to enforce our sanctions, even as we explore the
possibility of a long-term, comprehensive resolution of our concerns
with Iran’s nuclear program,” Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and
financial intelligence David Cohen was quoted by AFP as saying.
Negotiators from both sides had been
discussing implementation measures to the interim nuclear deal reached
in the Swiss capital last month, in which Iran agreed to scale back
parts of its controversial nuclear program in exchange for sanctions
relief.
The six-month interim deal was meant to allow both sides to reach a more permanent, comprehensive agreement.
IRNA reported that the next round of talks would be held in Tehran on January 21, 2014.
On Thursday, the US government targeted more
than two dozen companies and people for evading sanctions against Iran,
an effort by the Obama administration to show it will enforce existing
law even as it presses Congress to hold off on additional measures while
world powers pursue a comprehensive nuclear deal with Tehran.
The action freezes the US assets of firms in
Panama, Singapore, Ukraine and elsewhere for maintaining covert business
with Iran’s national tanker company. Other companies involved directly
in the proliferation of material useful for weapons of mass destruction
also were blacklisted from the US market. American citizens are banned
from any transactions with the listed individuals and firms.
The announcement by the Treasury and State
departments came as the administration was furiously lobbying lawmakers
to refrain from any new package of sanctions on Iran after last month’s
agreement. As part of the deal, the US agreed to no new nuclear-related
financial penalties against Tehran for six months, and Iran’s foreign
minister has warned that any such action could kill the diplomatic
effort.
Still, many Republicans and Democrats in
Congress have called for even tougher measures to raise the pressure
further on the Islamic republic, despite the administration’s pleas for
patience.
Also Thursday, at a US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, top American nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman sought to assure members that the interim deal was effective, and that sanctions relief through the deal will be minimal.
But Sherman used conditional language that
appeared to indicate a reluctance to commit that the ultimate level of
sanctions relief, offered to Iran under the deal for partially freezing
its rogue nuclear program, would indeed be held to the previously stated
$6-7 billion.
Recent reports in Israeli media have suggested
that ultimately, the total sanctions relief offered in the agreement
will be closer to $20 billion, and have also asserted that various
“under the table” concessions were made to Iran in Geneva.
Rebecca Shimoni Stoil contributed to this report.
timesofisrael.com
13/12/13
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Related:
Iran agrees to further nuclear talks. -Foreign minister's presence in meeting at UN marks highest-level direct Iran-US contact in decades.
Diplomats say an interim agreement has been reached in Geneva regarding Iran's nuclear programme. -Iran will freeze up the whole country’s nuclear programme for six months
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Iran official says U.S. sanctions violate Geneva deal spirit...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Iran said on Friday that a new U.S. measure targeting companies and individuals for supporting its nuclear program violated the spirit of a nuclear deal reached with major powers in Geneva last month.
The United States on Thursday black-listed additional companies and people under sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining the capability to make nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said. Iran says its program is purely peaceful.
"We are evaluating the situation and Iran will react accordingly to the new sanctions imposed on 19 companies and individuals. It is against the spirit of the Geneva deal," deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday.
Araghchi, who is also a member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, was referring to a November 24 interim agreement with six world powers under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from economic sanctions over the next six months.
In Vienna earlier on Friday, the European Union said that Iran and six world powers needed more time to work out complex technical steps to implement last month's deal after four days of expert-level talks.
It was not clear if Araghchi's remarks were related to the need for more time.
The U.S. Treasury and State Department said the blacklistings showed the Geneva deal "does not, and will not, interfere with our continued efforts to expose and disrupt those supporting Iran's nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions."
Some U.S. lawmakers want further sanctions on the Islamic state.................http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/us-iran-nuclear-sanctions-idUSBRE9BC0CY20131213?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
13/12/13
Iran angry over U.S. sanctions, nuclear talks interrupted...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Iran's anger over a new U.S. sanctions measure may have been behind its move to interrupt talks with world powers over how to implement last month's breakthrough nuclear agreement, two diplomats said on Friday.
Several envoys stressed, however, that the inconclusive outcome of the December 9-12 expert-level discussions in Vienna should not be seen as a sign that the political deal hammered out nearly three weeks ago was in serious trouble.............http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/us-iran-nuclear-sanctions-idUSBRE9BC0CY20131213?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
13/12/13
U.S. not yet ready to translate the positive effect of agreements between Iran and "six" into practice - Ryabkov.....
ReplyDeleteUnited States is not yet ready to translate the positive effect of the Geneva agreements between Iran and the "six" of international mediators into practice in the field of missile defense, said Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta".
The Russian minister said that following the Geneva agreement, Iran has “frozen” a number of components of its nuclear program, and he asked whether it is not high time when at least the European segment of America’s missile defense program be frozen.
“In response, we hear statements like - Iranian threat is not yet eliminated. In addition, there are talks that the European segment of the global missile defense system is being created in response to potential threats from different directions," - said Ryabkov in the interview expressing his dissatisfaction with the US foreign policy.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_13/U-S-not-yet-ready-to-translate-the-positive-effect-of-agreements-between-Iran-and-six-into-practice-Ryabkov-3381/
13/12/13
Nucléaire: Washington maintient les sanctions à l'encontre de Téhéran...
ReplyDeleteLes Etats-Unis continueront à applique les sanctions existantes à l'encontre de l'Iran, a déclaré dimanche le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry lors s'un entretien avec son homologue iranien Javad Zarif qui s'est déroulé en marge de la Conférence de Munich.
Selon la porte-parole de la diplomatie américaine Jen Psaki, les parties ont évoqué des négociations à venir (…) sur un accord global sur le nucléaire qui doivent avoir lieu le mois prochain. Lors de cet entretien, "le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry a aussi affirmé clairement que les Etats-Unis allaient continuer à appliquer les sanctions actuelles", a-t-elle ajouté.
Téhéran et le groupe des pays du 5+1 (Chine, Etats-Unis, France, Royaume-Uni, Russie, Allemagne) ont conclu en novembre 2013 à Genève un accord intérimaire qui gèle certaines activités nucléaires sensibles de l'Iran en échange d'une levée partielle des sanctions occidentales...............http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140202/200367875.html
2/2/14
French FinMin: France sees Iran opportunity if sanctions lifted ...
DeletePARIS- France will have "significant commercial opportunities" in Iran if sanctions are lifted, but Tehran first has to prove its good faith in abiding by nuclear undertakings, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Sunday.
Moscovici was speaking on LCI television as a French business delegation traveled to the Iranian capital for meetings with officials and business leaders.
The three-day visit is intended to "convey the message that, if the situation improves, there will be significant commercial opportunities for France in Iran", Moscovici said.
"But the underlying message should be read as an (encouragement) to the Iranians to keep their word," he said, adding: "It's a very sensitive dossier."
In return for a pledge by Tehran to freeze key parts of its nuclear program, world powers including France agreed in November to a six-month suspension of sanctions on selected goods and services. The easing is only now beginning to take effect.
The prospect of a relaxation of trade restrictions has whetted the appetite of French firms eager to win back business in a country of around 80 million people where some previously had extensive operations.
Renault said last week it had resumed shipments of parts to Iran, and that it expected production of the Tondar, an Iranian version of Renault's low-cost Logan model, to pick up progressively throughout the first half of 2014.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/French-FinMin-France-sees-Iran-opportunity-if-sanctions-lifted-340139
2/2/14