BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. The presidential election in Iran and the victory of reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian have given a shot in the arm to hope for reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, Trend reports.
As known, Pezeshkian emerged victorious in the second round of the snap presidential election held in Iran on July 5, clinching a whopping 16.4 million votes.
Just the other day (August 11), the President of Iran spilled the beans and revealed his ministerial nominees to the Iranian parliament, and one name that caught everyone's eye is Abbas Araghchi, who has been put forward for the role of foreign minister.
Araghchi was the chief negotiator for Iran in nuclear talks from 2013 to 2021 and played a significant role nailing down the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which kicked off in 2016.
His nomination for the post of foreign minister indicates that Iran is once again testing the waters to find common ground with global powers when it comes to its nuclear program.
However, things still need to be thought about.
The new President of Iran noted that the sanctions imposed on the country have had a significant negative impact and emphasized the importance of removing these and similar obstacles to revive the country's economy.
In 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and the 5+1 group (the US, France, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany) regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
At that time, the US administration was led by Donald Trump.
With the US presidential election coming up in November, one of the candidates is Donald Trump himself.
The US side abandoned the agreement, stating that the JCPOA primarily served Iran's interests.
Naturally, if Trump is re-elected, the US won't rejoin the agreement in its current form. This means that Iran will need to negotiate a different agreement regarding its nuclear program.
Over the years, Iran has stated that it will fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA if all parties return to the Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Moreover, the country's authorities have highlighted that there are virtually no obligations regarding the increase in enriched uranium.
Iran seeks the removal of all sanctions and other barriers imposed on the country, including its inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
In return, Iran is willing to dip its toe in the water and make some minor adjustments regarding its nuclear program.
However, if it comes to mutual concessions, both sides' privileges should be equal.
Over the past three years, Iran has either not provided the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with information about its nuclear program or has provided incomplete information.
This has really gotten under the skin of the IAEA, which has been singing the same tune over and over again, saying that Iran has a tight grip on its nuclear program and can't vouch for its openness.
Given the lack of substantive talks and actions around Iran's nuclear program leading up to November, it is reasonable to assume that negotiations over this program will take a new approach after November and result in a new deal.
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