Todd Bishop
The US-Iran relationship is still very tense, and Iran announced that it will restart the heavy water reactor. At the same time, US Secretary of State Pompeo revealed that her proposal to visit Iran was rejected.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on social media Twitter on July 28: “I recently proposed to go to Tehran to talk directly with the Iranian people. But the (Iran) regime did not accept my proposal.”
Pompeo also said that Washington is not worried about Iranian officials visiting the United States. “We are not afraid of Javad Zarif coming to the United States, where he has a free voice. Is the Ali Khamenei regime really so bad, he can’t let I do the same thing in Tehran? What happens if his people hear the truth that has not been filtered and has not been abridged?”
What is the attitude of the Iranian side regarding Pompeo’s intentional visit? The Tehran Times noted that Pompeo revealed on the 25th that he intends to visit Iran in the near future and will accept an interview with Iranian television. However, Peyman Jebeli, chairman of the International Department of the Iranian Radio and Television Administration, said on the 28th that “we did not ask for Pompei and did not plan to arrange this interview.”
Since the US government withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement, the relationship between the United States and Iran has been on a downward trend. In the past three months, tensions between the two countries have escalated after the US and Iraqi authorities have insisted on “smashing drones” and the arrest of the Hormuz Strait tanker.
At the same time, according to the Iranian National News Agency reported on July 28, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi said on the 28th that Iran will restart the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor activities.
As tensions between the United States and Iraq continue to escalate and the Iranian nuclear agreement is gradually being hollowed out, in order to save the agreement, representatives of relevant signatories other than the United States will hold a meeting in Vienna, Austria on the 28th, including Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Aragh. Araghchi), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, senior diplomat of China, Britain, France and Germany, and Schmidt, Secretary General of the European Union’s Foreign Action Agency, presided over the meeting.
According to the UAE “Arbia” TV station reported on the 28th, the meeting mainly discussed a series of issues such as “trade exchange support tool INSTEX” and the Arak heavy water reactor. Iran indicated that it will cooperate fully and strive to stay in the agreement. It also hopes that all parties will try their best to save the agreement and avoid making it a “paper”. Otherwise, Iran will have to respond.
One day before the Vienna meeting, an Iranian official said on the 27th that Iran’s main appeal for the nuclear deal negotiations is: hope that the agreement can continue to be fully and effectively implemented, and that Iran’s oil exports can be guaranteed and maintained before being sanctioned by the United States. Output level.
