Three different contradictory announcements came out of Iran on Sunday regarding its view on relations with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and the future of nuclear deal negotiations, exposing the full extent of the power struggle within the country.
The latest statement was made to the Mehr news site which reported that, "An informed source in the Secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council" had said they were exploring the possibility of extending cooperation with the IAEA until around June 21 to give negotiations about returning to the 2015 JCPOA a chance.
Slightly earlier on Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that Tehran’s negotiations with the US and the world powers would continue until a deal is reached.
His statement seemed to be a rebuke or response to Iran's parliamentary speaker, who early Sunday morning threatened to further limit international inspectors' access to nuclear sites and data. This would have increased tensions with the IAEA and world powers as nuclear deal negotiations reached their climax.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes the final calls on such issues, but he has swung back and forth between giving Rouhani and his pragmatist camp some room to negotiate versus doubling-down with the hardliner camp to completely cut off contact with countries like the US.
In that sense, some of the contradictions could also be political theater for Western consumption. But the way that the different statements were made public in an uncoordinated fashion seemed to indicate some real substantive differences between the various Iranian officials.
The threat came half-a-day after IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi announced that he would hold a press conference Sunday afternoon to update the world on the status of inspections, and as Iran, the US and world powers enter what could be a fateful week of negotiations to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Following the multiple contradictory public statements, the IAEA delayed its press conference, which had been set for 3:00 p.m. Israel-time, saying there would be an announcement at an undetermined point later in the day.
However, several hours later, the IAEA amended its position again, saying that it would only make an announcement on Monday.
The IAEA said that Grossi was "continuing consultations with Tehran regarding the technical understanding between the Agency and Iran. His planned press conference is now expected to take place on Monday morning. The exact time will be communicated later."
It was unclear if the threat was a last-second attempt at saber-rattling to try to get concessions from the US before a deal is cut or whether it was a sign that the Islamic Republic is ready to sabotage negotiations and engender a major crisis.
Negotiations are expected to be renewed midweek, but Rouhani said last week that the deal was all but finalized.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pressed Iran that it must make a choice about whether it is willing to return to the JCPOA's nuclear limitations in multiple media interviews on Sunday.
Questioned about Iran's narrative that it is the US which is holding out for a "stronger and longer" version of the JCPOA, Blinken said this was inaccurate.
He said that Washington had been clear that it would only seek changes to the deal after both sides had returned to the 2015 deal's original provisions, and there were no preconditions at this stage.
Israel is doubtful that the US will be able to get additional concessions from Tehran once the US's sanctions have been lifted and opposes the return to the deal without fixing various loopholes beforehand.