Tehran, Iran – Iran and the US are expected to engage in more nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman in their efforts to shape an agreement to avoid the US attacking Iran.
The Iranian delegation will arrive at technical consultations for the first time on Friday evening, ahead of politics and on Saturday.
Let’s take a look at what we can expect, and all the latest developments and contexts.
Who is giving a lecture?
As in two previous talks in Italy and Oman, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkov will lead the delegation.
But the experts leading technical consultations are also very important.
In Tehran’s case, Majid Takuto Ravanchi, the vice-chairman of Araguchi, and Kazem Galibabadi, representing legal and international affairs, lead a delegation at the expert level.
Takht-Ravanchi was a Western Education diplomat who led Iran’s mission to the United Nations and was ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Galibabadi led the Iranian representative office to international organizations in Vienna and represented Iranian judiciary internationally.
He was also involved in indirect nuclear negotiations between late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and former US President Joe Biden’s administration.
President Donald Trump’s main technical expert is Michael
Anton, newly appointed Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department.
Anton was a speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and national security adviser Condoleeza Rice during the George W. Bush administration.
He also held management positions in the private sector, including Citigroup and BlackRock investment companies. During the first Trump administration, he served on the National Security Council to shape the government’s message.
Anton’s work may be mitigated by the fact that he has not yet publicly adopted Iran’s nuclear program stance.
What do they argue?
Iran emphasizes not to discuss its defense capabilities or regional impacts, but is ready for an agreement to ensure that it will not build a nuclear bomb.
The technical consultations aim to set measures Tehran takes to curb its nuclear program, and how Washington and Europe will lift catastrophic sanctions.
Iran wants to lift at least some of its comprehensive sanctions on oil, banks and related industries.
The transaction could freeze a portion of Iran’s billions of dollars in export revenue, which remained blocked by foreign banks due to sanctions.
Negotiators may also try to identify exemptions, orders that allow Iran to sell oil or allow access to a global payment system.
Iranian officials like President Masuud Pezeshkian are taking it a step further, saying Iran welcomes direct, large-scale investments from US companies in the market and is full of financial opportunities.
Regarding the agenda, there is also an upper limit to Iranian uranium enrichment. This is currently up to 60%, a short step from 90% required for a bomb.
Under the terms of the previous nuclear agreement with the World Power (JCPOA), Iran had committed to a 3.67% enrichment cap, sufficient for civilian use, such as power generation.
However, when Trump unilaterally abandoned the JCPOA in 2018 and slapped the punishment limit against Iran, Tehran began using more advanced reactors, enriched at a much higher level than those designated by the JCPOA.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog that will once again monitor Iran’s commitment, is expected to send its team to Iran for consultations in the coming days.
Do you have an agreement soon?
While it is likely to advance the positive vibe surrounding the talk, Saturday’s meeting is just one step away from many people needed for any transaction.
But time is important, especially in the months leading up to the October deadline, when the 2015 nuclear trading “snapback” mechanism expired.
This allows one of the signatories to begin a process of reviving all UN sanctions on Iran in the case of a critical violation, such as enriching uranium at levels above 3.67%. Iran wants to avoid snapbacks.
Iranian Araguchi has reconciled its position by visiting China and Russia, accusing Israel of “weakening” negotiations.
Witkov was also in Moscow on Friday to discuss talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Araghchi says he is ready to visit Paris, Berlin and London to meet in person with three European JCPOA signatories.
“I was ready to do it before Iran began an indirect dialogue with the US, but E3 opted out,” he wrote to X.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used religious symbolism this week to signal his followers not to refuse to deal with the United States.
He added that Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth respected imam in Shia Islam, made a covenant with his enemy 1,300 years ago, and did not indicate “distrust of distrust and deceit CE” over Muslims.