Iran proposes delaying nuclear commitments until after first phase of deal
Al Jazeera reports the dispute now centers on which side gives up leverage first, Iran or the United States.
Published
Iran has proposed deferring its nuclear commitments until after the first phase of any agreement is carried out, Al Jazeera reported. The proposal reopens a familiar argument: Iran wants sanctions relief before it takes on new commitments, while the United States wants commitments first.
That sequencing question has stalled the talks for weeks, and Monday's proposal does not resolve it. The two sides remain apart on which one moves first.
The standoff comes as other pressure builds on both sides. Iran's parliament is weighing a bill to leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which would abandon the inspections regime Washington has demanded as the basis for any deal. Washington, for its part, is pressing Iran to honor a Swiss-brokered pledge to let IAEA inspectors back into the country. A source involved in the negotiations told Al Arabiya that a deal remains unlikely, with major obstacles still unresolved. Trump has said the United States will win its dispute with Iran "very soon" and predicted falling gas prices as a result, tying the outlook for inflation to that outcome.
Monday's proposal restates a position both sides have held for weeks, without new concessions from either. It leaves the standoff exactly where it has been, which means the risk premium built into oil prices over the prospect of an Iran deal is unlikely to move on this headline alone.