Iran seeks ‘real and fair’ deal in nuclear talks with US today
- Araghchi heading to Oman “with full authority for indirect talks with US”.
- Official says path forward would be “smooth” if US showed goodwill.
- Trump reiterates his opposition to Iran gaining a nuclear weapon.
- Iran said Friday it seeks a “real and fair” agreement on its nuclear programme, as the United States signalled a willingness to compromise ahead of high-stakes weekend talks — while insisting that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.The longtime adversaries are set to meet today in Oman, weeks after a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by US President Donald Trump, who sought diplomacy but warned of possible military action if Iran refuses.
- “Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready,” Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani posted on X.
- He confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was heading to Oman “with full authority for indirect negotiations with America”, adding that if Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be “smooth”.
- Ahead of the talks, Trump reiterated his opposition to Iran gaining a nuclear weapon.
- “I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, hours before his envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet Araghchi.
- Witkoff, Trump’s friend who serves as his globe-trotting envoy, sounded a note of flexibility ahead of the talks.
- Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal that “our position today” starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear programme — a view of hardliners around Trump that few expect Iran would ever accept.
- “That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries,” Witkoff told the newspaper.
- “Where our red line will be, there can’t be weaponisation of your nuclear capability,” Witkoff added.
- Former US president Barack Obama negotiated a deal in 2015 that sought to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon without insisting on full dismantlement of its contested programme.
- Trump denounced the agreement as too weak and ripped it up after taking office the first time, instead imposing sweeping sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.
- Tehran adhered to the deal for a year before rolling back its own commitments.
- ‘Hostile rhetoric’
- Ahead of the talks, Trump reiterated that military action was “absolutely” possible if they failed.
- Iran responded by saying Tehran could expel United Nations nuclear inspectors, prompting in turn a US warning that this would be an “escalation”.
- Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
- On Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was “giving diplomacy a genuine chance in good faith and full vigilance”.
- “America should appreciate this decision, which was made despite their hostile rhetoric,” he said.
- On Thursday, Washington imposed additional sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil network and nuclear programme.
- Iran’s nuclear agency chief Mohammad Eslami downplayed their impact.
- “They applied maximum pressure with various sanctions, but they were unable to prevent the country from progressing,” he said.
- “They still think that they can stop this nation and country with threats and intimidation, psychological operations, or stupid actions.”
- Ahead of the Oman talks, Witkoff — who has also been seeking to end the Ukraine war — visited Russia, which has close cooperation with Iran.
- The European Union, which backed the Obama-era accord, said Friday that there was “no alternative to diplomacy” on the Iranian nuclear issue.
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