WASHINGTON: As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations despite distractions caused by the conflict. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the US back into the accord and bring Iran back into compliance with limits on its nuclear programme.

After 11 months of on-and-off talks in Vienna, US officials and others say only a very small number of issues remain to be resolved. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have backed down on a threat to crater an agreement over Ukraine-related sanctions that had dampened prospects for a quick deal.

That leaves an agreement or at least an agreement in principle up to political leaders in Washington and Tehran. But, as has been frequently the case, both Iran and the US say those decisions must be made by the other side, leaving a resolution in limbo even as all involved say the matter is urgent and must be resolved as soon as possible.

“We are close to a possible deal, but were not there yet,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. “We are going to find out in the near term whether were able to get there.”

Also on Wednesday in Berlin, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said work on drafting a final text has been completed and the necessary political decisions now need to be taken in capitals. “We hope that these negotiations can now be swiftly completed,” he said.

Reentering the 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, has been a priority for the Biden administration since it took office.

Once a signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration in which now-President Joe Biden served as vice president, the accord was abandoned in 2018 by then-president Donald Trump, who called it the worst deal ever negotiated and set about restoring and expanding on US sanctions that had been lifted.

The Biden administration argues that any threat currently posed by Iran would be infinitely more dangerous should it obtain a nuclear weapon. Deal opponents, mostly but not entirely Republicans, say the original deal gave Iran a path to developing a nuclear bomb by removing various constraints under so-called sunset clauses. Those clauses meant that certain restrictions were to be gradually lifted.

Both sides’ arguments gained intensity over the weekend when Iran targeted the northern Iraqi city of Irbil with missile strikes that hit near the US consulate compound.

For critics, the attack was proof that Iran cannot be trusted and should not be given any sanctions relief. For the administration, it confirmed that Iran would be a greater danger if it obtains a nuke.

“What it underscores for us is the fact that Iran poses a threat to our allies, to our partners, in some cases to the United States, across a range of realms,” Price said. “The most urgent challenge we would face is a nuclear-armed Iran or an Iran that was on the very precipice of obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

Meanwhile, a new glimmer of hope for progress emerged on Wednesday when Iran released two detained British citizens. The US, which withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, and the three European countries that remain parties to it had said an agreement would be difficult if not impossible to reach while those prisoners, along with several American citizens, remain jailed in Iran.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2022