A state-organized rally marking the forty second anniversary of the takeover of the “den of espionage,” a turning level in US-Iran relations that set off a decadeslong cycle of escalation between the 2 sides, occurred Nov. 4 in an space outdoors the previous US Embassy premises in Tehran.
The nationwide occasion was characterised by typical US flag-burning scenes and “Demise to America” slogans on loudspeakers repeated by members.
This 12 months’s “nationwide day of the wrestle towards vanity” was additionally themed on admiration for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which claimed solely a day earlier than to have “thwarted a US try and steal Iranian oil.” The nation’s state TV launched undated footage of the “anti-piracy” operation through which IRGC forces have been proven in easy and full control of the vessel. Hours later, nonetheless, the narrative was introduced below questioning by unnamed US officials. There was solely an incident final week, they acknowledged, through which two American destroyers have been dispatched to “monitor” a Vietnamese-flagged tanker earlier than it was confiscated by the IRGC and diverted into Iranian territorial waters.
Whereas ambiguities continued, Iran and the USA haven’t denied earlier episodes at sea and within the Persian Gulf strategic oil pathway of Hormuz specifically. US forces even captured Iranian tankers destined for Venezuela as Iran’s lifeline crude stays below extreme American sanctions that have been reinstated following Washington’s departure from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
Oblique US-Iran talks over the revival of that accord have been placed on maintain in June when hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi took workplace in Tehran. Months after sitting on the thought of how one can return to the negotiating desk, the Iranian government in the end declared on Nov. 3 {that a} new date had been finalized for the resumption within the Austrian capital, Vienna. The announcement didn’t specify if the brand new spherical would come with the USA. The opposite events to the deal are China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany.
In his newest stance on the destiny of the settlement, Raisi declared in a public speech on Thursday, “We won’t stroll away from the negotiating desk, however [we] will resist extreme calls for.” He famous that his authorities will push for Iran’s “authorized proper to have sanctions eliminated.” Washington insists that for such removing, Tehran is required to roll again its nuclear enrichment to the 3.67% level as stipulated by the unique accord.
Iran, then again, has strictly demanded that Washington’s reentry into the deal should include a nondeparture guarantee.
And there have been nonetheless indicators from Tehran that prospects for a breakthrough have been removed from being seen on the fast horizon. “The powerless US president isn’t prepared to supply a assure,” declared Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council, a physique of senior civil and army officers with a major say in Iran’s main overseas coverage choices.
Failure to take action, Shamkhani warned, will render future negotiations pointless, yielding no new final result.
