TEHRAN – Iran and the US appeared to avoid Sunday’s impasse as they finished indirect nuclear talks in the fourth round.
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was part of the Iranian negotiating team in Oman along with technical, legal and nuclear experts, and said consultations were difficult but “useful.” He said the argument would help both parties “understand each other’s position” and “find a reasonable and realistic way to deal with differences.”
Tehran and Washington agreed to hold round 5 negotiations with timing and location announced by mediator Oman. The Arab state coordinates and acts as a companion to the debate.
The relative success of the latest round was that observers anticipated a potential collapse in the diplomatic process, and Washington’s chief negotiator, Special President Steve Witkoff, said the US wanted concessions to Iran’s redline, or that it would withdraw from the speech.
Witkov appears to have avoided the end of the demands he mentioned in the interview: the demolition of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the enrichment of uranium. This is because Tehran had previously stated that he would never accept such conditions. The Tehran Times understands that Iran’s stance will remain the same, and the agreement to hold a new consultation shows that the US continues to acknowledge its position.
However, Witkov’s remarks were condemned by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragut on Sunday. “If the US contradictory stance is repeated, Iran must act accordingly,” he told Iran’s national television that such a move would be useless in any form or form. Top diplomats lead their country’s negotiation teams in indirect consultations with Washington.
Araguchi added that both sides understand each other better. “Compared to the previous three rounds, this session was much more direct and serious. We moved away from generality and focused on the details.
This is the second time Iran has negotiated a deal on a nuclear program in the last 20 years. After two years of intense debate with the US, UK, France, Germany, China and Russia, it signed what was dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. The deal restricted Tehran’s nuclear activity in exchange for the removal of sanctions.
However, US President Donald Trump disrupt the JCPOA during his first term in office after he unilaterally left the agreement and resumed sanctions against Iran. He also wanted to secure a cap on Tehran’s military capabilities and foreign policy.
The Tehran Times learned that Araguchi and other Iranian officials have not yet fully relied on what they have heard from the US side at the negotiation table. Beyond Washington’s own whimsicality, attempts to hamper consultations by other actors further encouraged doubts about the feasibility of the deal. Among these destructive forces are Israel, which drives US military action against Iran, who is unhappy with Europe’s removal from negotiations, and previously supported the JCPOA.