TEHRAN(Bazaar) – Professor Frank N. von Hippel, former assistant director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology, says I am very unhappy that we have not been able to get back to the JCPOA but, unless the two sides can agree on the existing proposal for returning to compliance for compliance.
“I think we will need some kind of interim agreement under which Iran gets partial sanctions relief in return for returning to voluntary compliance with the Additional Protocol and ending the buildup of its stocks of highly enriched uranium,” Professor Frank N. von Hippel told Bazaar News Agency.
Following is the text of the Bazaar interview with Professor Frank N. von Hippel.
Q: Jarrett Blanc, the U.S. deputy special envoy for Iran and one of the main players in the indirect negotiations with Iran's nuclear program, plans to soon leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Robert Malley's team and join the Ministry of Energy. What is the reason for this change?
A: I hope some kind of agreement is possible. From the outside, the situation looks increasingly dangerous to me with Iran continuing to increase its stock of weapon-grade uranium without any justification except to put pressure on its negotiating partners.
My understanding (please correct me if the situation has changed) is that the Europeans put forward a proposal in August for how to return to compliance for compliance that was acceptable to both Iran and the United States and then Iran added the requirement that the IAEA end its enquiry into the presence of anthropogenic uranium at three sites in Iran. The US correctly responded that the IAEA is an independent UN agency and its actions should be kept separate from the nuclear deal.
I agree that the US is not currently putting energy into proposing a way forward in part because Iran is supplying drones to Russia to attack Ukraine and because of response by Iran’s leadership to the youth uprising.
I think that these too are separate issues, however, and a nuclear deal is urgent – either an agreement on the European proposal for how to proceed to compliance for compliance or an interim agreement under which Iran would end its buildup of weapon-useable uranium in exchange for some important sanctions relief.
I believe the Biden Administration would still be happy to implement the existing agreement under which both sides return to compliance with the JCPOA without additional demands.
I am very unhappy that we have not been able to get back to the JCPOA but, unless the two sides can agree on the existing proposal for returning to compliance for compliance, I think we will need some kind of interim agreement under which Iran gets partial sanctions relief in return for returning to voluntary compliance with the Additional Protocol and ending the buildup of its stocks of highly enriched uranium.
Otherwise, even though neither side wants or would profit from a war, the new Netanyahu government may figure out how to use the US unease over Iran’s growing stock of weapon-usable uranium to engineer a war.
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