A decision on salvaging the Iran nuclear deal could be days away and the ball is in Iran’s court, France said on Wednesday.
Indirect talks between Iran and the US on reviving the deal resumed last week and officials from the other parties to the accord — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — have shuttled between the two sides trying to close gaps.
“We have reached tipping point now. It's not a matter of weeks, it's a matter of days,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French Parliament.
“Political decisions are needed from the Iranians. Either they trigger a serious crisis in the coming days, or they accept the agreement which respects the interests of all parties.”
Western diplomats had hoped for a breakthrough by now but tough issues remain unresolved and Iran has rejected any deadline imposed by Western powers.
“We are coming to the moment of truth. If we want Iran to respect its [nuclear] non-proliferation commitments and in exchange for the United States to lift sanctions, there has to be something left to do it,” Mr Le Drian said.
Iran said on Monday it was “in a hurry” to strike a new deal if its national interests were protected and that restoring the pact required “political decisions by the West".
Western diplomats say they are now in the final phase of the talks and believe that a deal is within reach.
The main sticking points are understood to be Iran’s demand for a US guarantee of no more sanctions or punitive measures, and how and when to restore verifiable restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activity.
The agreement began to unravel in 2018 when then-president Donald Trump withdrew the US and reimposed far-reaching sanctions on Iran, which then began breaching the accord's limits on its uranium enrichment activity.
The US State Department has agreed to waive sanctions on Iran's civilian nuclear programme.
The resumption of the waiver, ended by the Trump administration in 2020, “would be essential to ensuring Iran's swift compliance” if a new deal on controlling Tehran's nuclear programme can be reached in talks in Vienna, the State Department official said.
The waiver allows other countries and companies to participate in Iran's civilian nuclear programme without triggering US sanctions on them, in the name of promoting safety and non-proliferation.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
