TOP OF THE AGENDA
Iran Nuclear Talks Continue
High-level
talks between P5+1 powers and Iran continue for a sixth day in Vienna
after negotiators missed a self-imposed June 30 deadline to reach a deal
to limit Tehran's nuclear program. Yukiya Amano, director-general of
the International Atomic Energy Agency, meets (Reuters)
with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani president and top national
security officials in Tehran on Thursday, in a bid to resolve
differences over the inspection of military sites. Meanwhile, the IAEA's
monthly report on Iran said that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium
gas was reduced and that the country had met an important commitment (AP) outlined in April's preliminary nuclear deal. Negotiators extended (WSJ)
the deadline for talks to July 7, citing progress but saying that
differences remained on sticking points, including access for UN nuclear
inspectors and the terms of sanctions relief.
ANALYSIS
"This raises the real possibility that the drive to become a nuclear weapons threshold state is inextricably linked to Iran's unique identity—its
sense of entitlement and vulnerability—that has driven it toward the
nuclear weapons option. If this is in fact the case, only transformation
of the regime into something else—a more moderate, normal state—might
allow for the possibility that Iran would give up permanently its desire
to remain a nuclear weapons threshold state," writes Aaron David Miller
for CNN.
"Much
of the economic boost from sanctions relief is likely to be consumed
internally by the Rouhani government, the political-economic elite, and
to some extent the Iranian people. Those responsible for Iran's foreign
policy, including the Revolutionary Guards, will have more resources,
but Iran's regional influence
is not as much dependent on money as it is on Tehran's ability to
exploit the growing instability around it. And that takes less funding
than often assumed," writes Alireza Nader in the National Interest.
"Iran
has much to offer the world in terms of its energy resources, and the
world has much to offer Iran in helping to produce and export its vast
oil reserves. Preventing Iran from establishing nuclear capabilities
might be the most obvious driver for talks, but it is far from the only
one. Oil companies have a vested interest in opening up shop
in Tehran, and so do countries that need to diversify their energy
suppliers in the face of global conflict," write Tara Shirvani and
Sinisa Vukovic in Foreign Affairs.
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