Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad Discusses Roadmap for Iranian-Saudi Talks

Iran's ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Iran's ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad Discusses Roadmap for Iranian-Saudi Talks

Iran's ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Iran's ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iran's outgoing ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi discussed at the end of his term the latest stages of the talks between his country and Saudi Arabia.

For a year and a half, Baghdad has hosted five rounds of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran shortly after the outgoing prime minister, Mustafa Kadhimi, assumed his duties.

During an interview in Baghdad, Masjedi revealed the details of the recent talks between Tehran and Riyadh.

He indicated that during the fifth round held last Thursday, the delegations discussed a roadmap for the future.

"Both sides had some suggestions which were agreed upon after the Thursday meeting and turned into a roadmap for the future."

In response to whether the two countries will reopen their embassies, Masjedi stated that the course of talks would determine whether there will be an exchange of missions, and it depends on the next negotiations.

He added, "In the last round of negotiations, it was important that the two sides have an agreed framework for the future, which came to fruition. And this is per se a positive point that will pave the future way for both sides."

The diplomat pointed out that the "confidence-building" measure is one of the most critical features of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He explained that other issues include bilateral cooperation and measures such as the Hajj, the exchange of embassies, and "regional and international matters."

Kadhimi ensured that Iraq restored its previous regional and international status and became an important regional and global actor. He reestablished and reorganized Baghdad's relations with Washington and held four rounds of strategic dialogue that resulted in the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq at the end of 2021.

The PM also relayed messages between Tehran and Washington ahead of the Vienna negotiations. Iraq increased its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all fields by activating the Economic and Political Council, which held several meetings in Baghdad and Riyadh.

Kadhimi's security reform advisor Hussein Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Prime Minister focused his government program on foreign policy and restoring Iraq's regional role, which requires a new strategic approach.

Allawi added that one of the strategic issues was the Saudi-Iranian dialogue under the auspices of the Iraqi government.

Allawi believes that Kadhimi succeeded in reaching the first point through the arrival of the two countries' delegations last year and the start of the dialogue with its four rounds.

He indicated that the last round held in April 2022 was an excellent achievement for the two countries.

The expert noted that Iraq transferred its post-2016 relations from stagnation to openness, dialogue, and exchange of views, leading to a roadmap for normalizing the relationship by activating the Iranian diplomats' visa membership in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the ceasefire in Yemen.

Allawi asserts that Kadhimi realizes that the country's national security will only be achieved by regional diplomatic action, adding that the establishment of peace is a significant opportunity to create an appropriate climate for cooperation and development among all.



Iran to Launch 'Advanced Centrifuges' in Response to IAEA Censure

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran to Launch 'Advanced Centrifuges' in Response to IAEA Censure

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog that censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation.

The censure motion brought by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States at the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) follows a similar one in June.

It came as tensions run high over Iran's atomic program, with critics fearing that Tehran is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon -- a claim the Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied.

The resolution -- which China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against -- carried with 19 votes in favor, 12 abstentions and Venezuela not participating, two diplomats told AFP.

"The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued an order to take effective measures, including launching a significant series of new and advanced centrifuges of various types," a joint statement by the organization and Iran's foreign ministry said.

Centrifuges are the machines that enrich uranium transformed into gas by rotating it at very high speed, increasing the proportion of fissile isotope material (U-235).

"At the same time, technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past" and within the framework of agreements made by Iran, the joint Iranian statement added.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's atomic energy organization spokesman, on Friday said the new measures are mostly related to uranium enrichment.

"We will substantially increase the enrichment capacity with the utilisation of different types of advanced machines," he told state TV.

Iran's retaliatory measures "are reversible if this (Western) hostile action is withdrawn or negotiations are opened," Tehran-based political analyst Hadi Mohammadi told AFP.

- 'Legal obligations' -

The confidential resolution seen by AFP says it is "essential and urgent" for Iran to "act to fulfil its legal obligations" under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ratified in 1970.

The text also calls on Tehran to provide "technically credible explanations" for the presence of uranium particles found at two undeclared locations in Iran.

In addition, Western powers are asking for a "comprehensive report" to be issued by the IAEA on Iran's nuclear efforts "at the latest" by spring 2025.

The resolution comes after the IAEA's head Rafael Grossi returned from a trip to Tehran last week, where he appeared to have made headway.

During the visit, Iran agreed to an IAEA demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity.

- 'Cycle of provocation' -

"Iran did not start the cycle of provocation -- the Western side could, without passing a resolution... create the atmosphere for negotiations if it really was after talks," the analyst Mohammadi said.

In 2015, Iran and world powers reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, which prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.

On Thursday, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi warned of Iran's potential next step.

"Iran had announced in an official letter to European countries that it would withdraw from the NPT if the snapback mechanism was activated, and the Security Council sanctions were reinstated," Gharibabadi said in a late-night interview with state TV.

The 2015 deal contains a "snapback" mechanism that can be triggered in case of "significant non-performance" of commitments by Iran.

This would allow many sanctions to be reimposed.

Tehran has since 2021 decreased its cooperation with the agency by deactivating surveillance devices monitoring the nuclear program and barring UN inspectors.

At the same time, it has ramped up its nuclear activities, including by increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium and the level of enrichment to 60 percent.

That level is close, according to the IAEA, to the 90 percent-plus threshold required for a nuclear warhead and substantially higher than the 3.67 percent limit it agreed to in 2015.