Iranian nuclear negotiating team's international media advisor during the Vienna talks, Seyyed Mohammad Marandi

Iranian nuclear negotiating team's international media advisor during the Vienna talks, Seyyed Mohammad Marandi, told Al Mayadeen today that "Western governments were lying from the very beginning" about Iran's nuclear activity, stressing that today this has been proven.

"The number of files in the International Atomic Energy Agency [regarding the Iranian nuclear project] has decreased" now that "the last two files have been closed," Marandi added.

Iranian nuclear negotiating team's international media advisor during the Vienna talks, Seyyed Mohammad Marandi shows how the pressure of the Western governments on #Iran failed to offer new concessions to them.@s_m_marandi pic.twitter.com/F2ViMgFMoz
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 5, 2023

"The [nuclear agreement] text is basically ready and is awaiting both parties' signature," he revealed, adding that "the time is ripe for the deal."

Seyyed Mohammad Marandi considered that the current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency is not independent.

Iranian nuclear negotiating team's international media advisor during the Vienna talks, Seyyed Mohammad Marandi explains on #AlMayadeen how the International Atomic Energy Agency is controlled by #Western countries and by the US in particular. #Iran @s_m_marandi pic.twitter.com/ddveEZ6UZb
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 5, 2023

The Iranian official further stressed that "if the United States closes the case at the International Atomic Energy Agency and accepts the text that both Iran and Josep Borrell saw as reasonable, then Iran will be willing to sign the deal."

"If the Americans have the will, it could be signed quickly. But again, Iran is not going to sit and wait, the world is changing, and Iran is using those opportunities to the utmost."

Marandi added, "[The nuclear agreement] would be constructed in a way [when it comes to] the revival of the nuclear deal [there] would be very little or no room for the Western countries to cheat."

"The Iranians are not going to wait for the United States, they are going to build relations with Asian countries, with Russia, China, India... Time is not on the side of the US or the Europeans," he went on to say, noting that Washington's policy in West Asia is to maintain a state of division which is in "Israel's interest".

Iranian nuclear negotiating team's international media advisor during the Vienna talks, Seyyed Mohammad Marandi to #AlMayadeen: The Iranians are not going to wait for the United States, they are going to build relations with Asian countries, with #Russia, #China, #India... Time… pic.twitter.com/hpDL5h9Ke8
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 5, 2023

Marandi believed that "the US is looking for a distraction and Iran is always that distraction," considering that "the world is evolving as the United States declines... which is weakening the US sanctions against Iran."

On May 31, the IAEA decided to close the file relating to nuclear material at an allegedly "undeclared site" that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu brought up in a speech in September 2019, after receiving a "possible explanation" from Iran.

The Vienna-based IAEA noted in its confidential report that its inspectors were no longer concerned about uranium particles discovered to be enriched to 83.7% at Iran's underground Fordow complex.

The report explained how “the agency informed Iran that, following its evaluation of the data, the agency had assessed that the information provided was not inconsistent with Iran’s explanation ... and that the agency had no further questions on this matter at this stage."

The IAEA had reported the discovery of traces of radioactive material at three allegedly "undeclared sites" by Iran.

The Marivan site in the southern province of Fars is the first to be addressed under a work plan agreed upon by Iran and the IAEA in March. The other two sites are Varamin and Turquzabad.