The deputy chairman of the Majlis: Iran would study the implementation of the additional protocol if West lifts all sanctions: The White House reported to be weighing a proposal to offer Iran access to US $ 12 billion funds against steps to cut down on it
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    • (OCTOBER 14-20)

    According to reports, the deputy chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Mansour Haqiqatpour has said that the Majlis would study the implementation of the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) only after the West lifts all sanctions against Iran. The additional protocol allows unannounced inspection of the nuclear sites. He also said “Signing the additional protocol is a complicated issue. If we sign it, they may ask to inspect… the Parchin site which is a military facility. So I think the Westerners should take necessary confidence-building measures so that, after winning our full trust, we would study the protocol.” It would be worth noting that Iran and world powers held talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme in Geneva on October 15 and 16, 2013. The negotiations were held between representatives from Iran and the six major powers (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the 5+1 group). 1

    In another development, according to reports, Tehran stands to gain access to nearly $50 billion if the Obama administration decides to free up $12 billion of frozen Iranian assets in the US, inevitably followed by Europe’s release of another $35 billion. The White House was reported on October 18 to be weighing a proposal to offer Iran access to these funds “in installments” against "steps to cut down on its nuclear program." This plan offers Barack Obama a way to ease sanctions on Iran, while avoiding political and diplomatic fallout in Congress and from Jerusalem that would result from an attempt to get the sanctions legislation repealed or amended. The Iranian delegation advised the six world powers on the opposite side of the table to simply accept Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s fatwa as an ironclad pledge of the Islamic Republic’s commitment to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon and continue to pursue a peaceful programme. Ahead of the next round of talks to be held on November 7-8, the Obama administration hopes to warm world opinion to the proposition that Iran’s leaders, especially President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his deputy Abbas Araghchi, need more incentives for concessions. They must be able to show their doctrinaire colleagues at home that diplomacy and smiles win more than intransigence. 2

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