West sidetracking N-talks to prevent deal: Analyst

The Western states seek to sidetrack the nuclear negotiations with Iran in an attempt to avert a final deal on the country’s nuclear energy program, an analyst writes in a column for Press TV.

In an article published on Press TV’s website on Sunday, Finian Cunningham said Washington and its European allies are “shifting the goalposts” by introducing irrelevant subjects such as Iran’s missile program into the ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 – the US, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany.

“The sidetracking shows Western bad faith – bad faith that destroys confidence in the chances of arriving at a mutual comprehensive accord and an end to the decade-long nuclear deadlock,” wrote the analyst.

Cunningham added that the Westerners are “not serious or sincere” about finding a “genuine solution” to their dispute with Tehran over the latter’s nuclear energy program and lifting the “barbaric” sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic under this pretext.

The latest round of the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1, which was held in Vienna, Austria, in mid-May, confirmed the idea that “the nuclear issue is not really the Western concern,” according to the analyst.

Cunningham went on to say that, “The Western powers do not deserve the respect of negotiations. They are arrogant rogue powers, with the innocent blood of millions on their hands.”

In recent months, some American officials have said Iran’s missile program would be addressed under a final deal over Tehran’s nuclear energy program. Iran has totally rejected this as absurd.

On May 17, an official close to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team criticized the West for pursuing unreasonable and “excessive demands” during the latest Vienna talks.