US negotiators have said the effort to bring detained US citizens home is being pursued independently of the JCPOA negotiations and as a top priority. So the Iranian implication that US/UK holding up a prisoner swap by linking it to JCPOA issue seems inconsistent with that
My understanding from previous media reports is the Iranians have wanted the Brits to pay for an old debt for the release of British detainees held by Iran, while what has been envisaged between the US and Iran is a prisoner swap, (not involving a payment).
Update: State Dept spokesman Ned Price, by email:
These comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse on a potential mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. We stand ready to return to Vienna to complete work on a mutual return to the JCPOA 1/
State’s Price, cnt’d: once Iran has made the necessary decisions.
W/ respect to the comments on the Americans whom Iran has unjustly held against their will, we see just another cruel effort to raise the hopes of their families. Araghchi speaks of us taking an agreement hostage
when it is his government that has been unjustly detaining 4 innocent Americans for years.
There is no agreed deal yet on the matter of the detainees. And if Iran were truly interested in making a humanitarian gesture, it would simply release the detainees immediately. 3/
Price: “…The release of our unjustly detained citizens is a top priority for us, & we remain interested in seeing to that as soon as possible.
We had been engaged in indirect talks on the detainees in the context of the Vienna process, & the delay in restarting that process 4/
Price: “…is not helping. While it would be more effective to make progress if we were meeting in Vienna, we are also prepared to continue with talks on detainees during this period.” 5/
as read the last graf, US saying it would be willing to continue talking on detainees before the Iranians are ready to resume JCPOA talks in Vienna,
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🧵New from me: Iran notifies parties won’t be ready to resume Vienna talks before Raisi inaugurated in August. Delay could indicate Raisi team believes they can negotiate a better deal. diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
“I don’t think this delay is only because they want to basically get the credit for restoring the deal & reaping the economic benefits. I think it is indicative of the fact that they…are dissatisfied with where the negotiations are,” @AliVaezdiplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
“Either the Raisi team will come in and begin negotiations pretty quickly to try to get a marginally better agreement…Or, they would decide this is not good enough and engage in this dangerous game of brinksmanship,” @AliVaezdiplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-notifie…
Thread: State spox: US is prepared to resume indirect talks w Iran, to resume that 7th round of negotiations...
We are ready to go if & when the Iranians signal they are as well. That is because we want to see Iran nuclear program constrained....1/
State spx, contd: But this process is not indefinite. There will come a point where our calculus will change
Where the benefits it accrues may one day outweigh than benefits the international community might accrue from return to JCPOA. We are not there yet. 2/
State spox, cont'd: There is a broader issue you raise that suggests because Iran is engaging in this behavior in other realms, does that implicate our view of the nuclear negotiations. Our view continues to be that every other challenge Iran poses becomes 3/
"Prior to the kidnapping plot, the gov't f Iran attempted to lure Victim-1 to a 3rd country in order to capture Victim-1 for rendition to Iran. In appr. 2018, Iranian gov't officials attempted to induce relatives of V-1, who reside in Iran, to invite V-1 to travel to a 3rd cntry
"On multiple occasions in 2020 & 2021,...Farahani and his network procured the services of private investigators to surveil, photograph and video record Victim-1 & V-1's household members in Brooklyn.... As part of kidnapping plot, the Farahani-led intel network also researched
"methods of transporting V-1 out of the US for rendition to Iran. Sadeghi, for ex., researched a service offering military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation out of New York City, & maritime travel from New York to Venezuela...
“Whether it is nailed down while Rouhani is president or not is not a big determinant in the success of the deal,” @hrome2 “My expectation is that this can and will still come together.” diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-transit…
Iran committee reviewing Vienna negotiatons to date includes Raisi fopo advisor Ali Baqeri, SNSC’s Shamkhani & deputy Ali Hoseini Tash, AEOI’s Salehi, DepFM Araghchi, parliament’s 2nd Vice-speaker Abdolreza Mesri & nat sec comm’s Vahid Jalalzadeh diplomatic.substack.com/p/iran-transit…
Psaki, on strikes on Iraq/Syria border: The president's view is that it was necessary, appropriate and deliberate action, and the strikes were designed to limit risk of escalation..
Psaki: We continue to believe &never held back from noting that Iran is a bad actor in the region
At same time, we feel we are moving forward & seek opportunity to move forward on negotiations to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nclr weapon.
No link w Isrl Prs. Rivlin visit
Psaki, asked if US looking to post JCPOA talks to deal with UAV threat from Iran-backed militias in Iraq:
I would say as it relates to responding to attacks on men & women serving, threats to our facilities in region, don’t see that as on the same exact track.
While the US considers the outcome of Iran’s recent election “pre-manufactured,” it “does not affect our determination to try to reach a deal or the pace at which we will go about pursuing it,” senior State Dept official said. diplomatic.substack.com/p/us-still-ser…
US official pressed for follow-on talks, and said it would seem they would be in Iran’s interests too, “because they have issues that they’re going to want to bring to the table.” diplomatic.substack.com/p/us-still-ser…