Week of October 18th, 2021 | Iran Unfiltered is a weekly digest tracking Iranian politics & society by the National Iranian American Council
- Raisi Talks about JCPOA Negotiations in TV Interview
- Abdollahian Briefs Parliament on a “Step by Step” JCPOA Return
- Human Rights Professor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
- Abollahian Discusses Prisoner Swap, Nuclear Negotiations with UN Secretary General
- Iran Braces for Sixth Wave of COVID Infections
Raisi Talks about JCPOA Negotiations in TV Interview
President Raisi talked about the nuclear negotiations and his government’s performance in an interview with state television. Raisi said his administration inherited massive economic problems from the previous Rouhani administration. He said he would make reforms to end a budget deficit and would gradually end Iran’s dual exchange rate system.
Raisi said Iran needs to see “seriousness” from the other parties in the nuclear negotiations. He stated about the criterion for this seriousness: “For the other side, a readiness to lift sanctions can be a sign of their seriousness.”
Raisi said Iran “never left the negotiating table” and is “serious” about “results-oriented negotiations.” He added that his government “will pursue the nuclear negotiations and will never leave the negotiating table.” However, he said he will not “tie the people’s livelihoods to the nuclear negotiations.”
Meanwhile, IRGC commander Hossein Salami said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has more influence than before. Salami says that when it comes to “guiding the Muslim community,” Khamenei “is better and more than before having decisive impacts.”
Abdollahian Briefs Parliament on a “Step by Step” JCPOA Return
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian gave a private briefing to parliament on the JCPOA negotiations. According to some parliamentarians who were present, Abdollahian said Iran seeks a “step by step” return to JCPOA compliance by all sides.
Alireza Salimi, a member of parliament’s presiding board and a former foreign ministry official, gave interviews to outlets such as Fars News about Abdollahian’s briefing. According to Salimi, Abdollahian said Iran’s approach to the nuclear negotiations will be a policy of “action for action” (i.e. step by step, each side reciprocating another’s steps in returning to JCPOA compliance). Earlier this year, Ayatollah Khamenei called for an “action for action” return to the JCPOA, which former President Rouhani also echoed.
According to Salimi, Abdollahian said the U.S. must take a “serious action” for negotiations to restart. However, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh later clarified that Iran is not attaching any preconditions to rejoining the Vienna JCPOA negotiations.
Salimi himself said it is unlikely that America will take a first major step because it believes Iran is “delaying” and “killing time.” Salimi added: “The situation is not such that the other side is ready to do something without an agreement. This means that if the Americans are going to do anything, they will want an agreement before it.”
According to Salimi, Abdollahian said the nuclear negotiations must “resume from the time when Trump left the JCPOA.” Salimi said this was an “ambiguous” remark, and it might mean the Raisi administration does not want the negotiations to start from where they left off in Vienna in June.
Salimi said he believes the Trump and Biden administrations are different, and that Biden accepts the JCPOA. He says if Iran wants to return to the point when Trump left the deal, the “negotiations will get longer” or the “subject of the negotiations will become void” (i.e. the deal will die).
Human Rights Professor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
Reza Eslami, a human rights professor at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University and dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, has been sentenced to five years in prison. His lawyer Rasoul Kuhpayehzadeh has said he will appeal and try to reduce this sentence.
Eslami was arrested on May 12, 2020 by Iran’s intelligence ministry after he attended a human rights workshop in Prague. According to Deutsche Welle, Iranian sources allege that this workshop was funded by a U.S.-based non-governmental organization.
The charge against Eslami is “cooperation with a hostile government.” Last summer, over 100 Iranian professors wrote a letter to Iran’s judiciary chief saying Eslami denies all the charges and calling for a fair and just trial.
Abollahian Discusses Prisoner Swap, Nuclear Negotiations with UN Secretary General
Foreign Minister Abdollahian spoke on the phone with UN Secretary General António Guterres. Abdollahian told him last week’s trip to Tehran by EU Deputy High Representative Enrique Mora was “positive.”
Abdollahian said Iran-EU talks on the nuclear file would continue in Brussels “next week.” Abdollahian told Guterres if the other parties to the JCPOA return to their commitments under the deal, Iran will as well.
Abdollahian also said Iran is ready for a prisoner swap. He says Iran views the “prisoner issue” as a “humanitarian” issue and does not want to connect it to the nuclear negotiations. Iran has currently imprisoned several dual nationals, including Iranian American Siamak Namazi.
Abollahian Discusses Prisoner Swap, Nuclear Negotiations with UN Secretary General
Foreign Minister Abdollahian spoke on the phone with UN Secretary General António Guterres. Abdollahian told him last week’s trip to Tehran by EU Deputy High Representative Enrique Mora was “positive.”
Abdollahian said Iran-EU talks on the nuclear file would continue in Brussels “next week.” Abdollahian told Guterres if the other parties to the JCPOA return to their commitments under the deal, Iran will as well.
Abdollahian also said Iran is ready for a prisoner swap. He says Iran views the “prisoner issue” as a “humanitarian” issue and does not want to connect it to the nuclear negotiations. Iran has currently imprisoned several dual nationals, including Iranian American Siamak Namazi.
Iran Braces for Sixth Wave of COVID Infections
Masoud Younesian, the head of the Health Ministry Strategic Committee on Vaccinations, warned about a coming sixth wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths. He said the decrease in infections and deaths since the last wave’s peak in August was diminishing and ending in parts of the country.
Younesian said that people were failing to abide by COVID-19 restrictions and in the past few months travel and gatherings have increased. Separately, the Health Ministry has said the sixth wave of infections and deaths will come in the Iranian month of Aban (October 23-November 21).
However, the rate of vaccinations in Iran in recent months has increased. According to President Raisi, roughly 70 percent of Iranians have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said Iran has imported 120 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. According to the Health Ministry, as of October 18th, roughly 49 million Iranians have had at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 25 million have had two doses. It says that in total, about 74 million Iranians have received a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Back to top