Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 13
By Temkin Jafarov, Saeed Isayev - Trend:
The mutual threats from both Iran and the U.S. is political bluff, I think in some time, it will pass, Iranian political analyst, author of book on Iran's nuclear program, Mehdi Mahdavi Azad told Trend.
"There is a possibility that that this agreement between Iran and P5+1 for 6 months, can encounter certain problems, thus the overall period may be extended over 6 months," he said.
At the same time, Azad said that both in the U.S. and in Iran, there are political figures that threaten any agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group.
On Jan. 12, Reuters reported citing U.S. president Barack Obama as saying that the U.S. and other nations would begin to give Iran "modest relief" on economic sanctions as long as Iran lives up to its end of an agreement.
In December, the White House released a statement which said Obama would veto a new Iran sanctions bill, if it's passed. The mentioned bill calls for "diplomatic, military and economic support" to Israel in case Tel Aviv decides to launch an attack against Iran's nuclear energy program.
"If however more than 66 percent of Congress members vote for this bill, the president will not be able to veto it," Azad said.
He further said that Iran's parliament has warned other countries that if the agreement with Iran regarding the nuclear program is not implemented, then the plan for enriching uranium up to 60 percent may be approved by Iranian parliament.
"After Hassan Rouhani was elected as president of Iran, the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had to accept Rouhani's vision regarding the nuclear issues," Azad said. "And if the U.S. makes the same mistake that George W. Bush did about 10 years ago, then the Supreme Leader would veto the talks."
The expert noted that while the agreed 6 months are said to be the first step in resolving Iran's nuclear issue, it is really time to build trust between two sides.
"As of now, it is too early to predict anything. Theoretically there are problems, but I believe in reality, both sides will find a solution," he said.
On Jan. 11, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told IRNA news agency that the Joint Plan of Action reached between Iran and P5+1 in Geneva on November 24 will be implemented on January 20.
The sides will conduct more negotiations within these six months, to reach the final agreement on the nuclear issue, he said, commenting on the recent agreement between Iran and P5+1 group.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.
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