The White House on Thursday denied a media report that the United States and Iran were close to reaching an interim agreement, under which Tehran would curtail its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
A spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said, “The report is incorrect and misleading,” referring to an article on the Middle East Eye website that quoted unidentified sources.
“Any reports of an interim agreement are false,” he added.
The report had indicated that Iran and the United States were close to an interim agreement to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting some sanctions.
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The report quoted two unnamed sources as saying that “the two sides reached an agreement on concluding an interim agreement to transfer it to their superiors.”
The report stated that Iran will abide by stopping uranium enrichment to a purity of 60% or more and will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations.
On the other hand, the United States allows Iran, according to the report, to export up to one million barrels of oil per day and obtain “its income and other funds frozen abroad.”
Estimates of the Israeli security apparatus indicate that contacts between the United States and Iran, with the aim of reaching understandings about the Iranian nuclear program, have advanced significantly in recent days, according to what the Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday, Wednesday.
These estimates consider that the contacts are taking place at a faster pace than expected, and that the two sides may reach agreements within a few weeks, although they have not finally agreed on the issues over which they differ.
Contacts are taking place about understandings that include Iran’s agreement to stop enriching uranium at high levels, in return for easing international sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran.
According to the alleged understandings, according to the Israeli newspaper, 20 billion dollars will be released in the first stage in bank accounts in the name of Iran in banks in South Korea and Iraq and with the International Monetary Fund.
In return, Iran will release three Western prisoners held by it, as part of steps to build confidence between the two sides.
The newspaper pointed out that Israel, officially, opposes the understandings being developed between the United States and Iran.
Tel Aviv believes that such an interim agreement, which includes freezing enrichment in exchange for the release of frozen funds, is not sufficient to ensure international monitoring of Iran at the required level, and will not lead to a decline in its nuclear program or reduce the Iranian threat.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of failing to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities, considering that the UN agency risks becoming a politicized body and thus losing its importance.
The unfamiliar criticism came in the wake of a report issued by the IAEA last week, which indicated that Iran had provided a satisfactory response regarding the discovery of suspected uranium particles and that it had reinstalled some monitoring equipment.
“Iran’s pretexts regarding finding nuclear material in restricted sites are not only unreliable, but also technically impossible,” Netanyahu said.
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2023-06-08 18:40:00
