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ShareTEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran’s longtime foe shows sufficient goodwill in talks to begin in Oman on Saturday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.
Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is an arch foe of Tehran. Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect”.
“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media. “The format of the negotiations... is not the most important thing in my view. What really counts is the effectiveness or otherwise of the talks. If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingness, a deal can be found... The ball is in America’s court.” Araghchi said the talks would be led by him and Witkoff, mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi. Tehran would want to see concrete gestures from the United States before any face-to-face talks between Iranian and US officials, Iranian and regional sources said. “The Iranians told us that direct talks are possible but there has to be a goodwill gesture.
Lift some sanctions or unfreeze some money,” a regional diplomat said. Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed. “We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear activities, calling the idea pointless. The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that the Zionist entity, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.
Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however. “I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think ran’s going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said. In an interview with US network NBC late last month. Trump went further. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said.
In Tehran, Trump’s warnings are seen as a way to box the Islamic Republic into accepting concessions in the talks Trump demands or face air strikes, three Iranian officials said. They said the US wanted to push other issues too, including Iranian influence across the Middle East and its ballistic missiles program, which they said were off the table.
“Trump wants a new deal: End Iran’s regional influence, dismantle its nuclear program, and halt its missile work. These are unacceptable to Tehran. Our nuclear program cannot be dismantled,” a senior Iranian official said. “Our defense is non-negotiable. How can Tehran disarm when (the Zionist entity) has nuclear warheads? Who protects us if (the Zionist entity) or others strike?” said another official.
China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks. Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018. “We know that certain contacts — direct and indirect — are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow “absolutely” supported the initiative.
China called on the United States to “stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure” after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal. “As the country that unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue and caused the current situation, the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)... mutual respect,” its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. Washington should “participate in dialogue and consultation, and at the same time stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure”, Lin added.
The Zionist prime minister, whose government has also threatened military action against Iran to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon, held talks with Witkoff as well as Trump on Monday. Netanyahu, who has repeatedly urged US governments to use strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, said a diplomatic solution would be good if it was done “in a full way”, citing the complete dismantling of Libya’s atomic program. “Let them drag out the talks and then the option is military. Everyone understands this,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday in a statement.
Trump on Monday also touted himself as a mediator between the Zionist entity and Turkey in their struggle over politically fragile Syria, where both countries are jostling for influence. Trump, speaking alongside Netanyahu at the White House, touted his “great relations” with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an avenue for negotiations.
“I told the prime minister, I said, just Bibi if you have a problem with Turkey, I really think I’m going to be able to work it out,” Trump told reporters, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “You know, I have a very, very good relationship with Turkey and with their leader, and I think we’ll be able to work it out,” he added.
Turkey is a key backer of the Islamist-led coalition in Syria that toppled Bashar Al-Assad in December after almost 14 years of civil war. Its influence on Syria’s new authorities has worried the Zionist entity, which has carried out strikes and ground incursions into southern Syria to repel the government’s forces from the border. Trump appeared to acknowledge Turkey’s dominance in Syria, saying he told Erdogan he had “taken it over through surrogates”. “I said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve done what nobody’s been able to do in 2,000 years. You’ve taken over Syria.’ With different names, but same thing,” Trump said. – Agencies
