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US, Iran: Nuclear Talks Make Progress 04/21 06:19
Iran and the United States plan to meet over Tehran's rapidly advancing
nuclear program again next week, after both sides said they made progress in
their talks Saturday in Rome.
ROME (AP) -- Iran and the United States plan to meet over Tehran's rapidly
advancing nuclear program again next week, after both sides said they made
progress in their talks Saturday in Rome.
A U.S. official confirmed that at a point during the negotiations in Rome,
President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign
Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke face to face.
Before they meet again in Oman on April 26, Araghchi said technical-level
talks would be held in the coming days. That experts would be discussing
details of a possible deal suggests movement in the talks and comes as Trump
has pushed for a rapid agreement while threatening military action against Iran.
The sides "made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,"
according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss a private diplomatic meeting.
In a post on X, Araghchi similarly said they made "progress on principles
and objectives of a possible deal." He added, however, that "optimism may be
warranted but only with a great deal of caution."
He told Iranian state television earlier that "I hope that we will be in a
better position after the technical talks."
While the U.S. said both direct and indirect discussions were held, Iranian
officials described them as indirect, like those last weekend in Muscat, Oman,
with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi shuttling between them in different
rooms.
"These talks are gaining momentum and now even the unlikely is possible,"
al-Busaidi said on X.
In a separate post, Oman's Foreign Ministry said the sides agreed to keep
talking to seek a deal that ensures Iran is "completely free of nuclear weapons
and sanctions, and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy."
That talks are even happening represents a historic moment, given the
decades of enmity between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution
and the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. Trump, in his first term, unilaterally
withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, setting off years
of attacks and negotiations that failed to restore the accord that drastically
limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic
sanctions.
Talks come as tensions rise in the Mideast
At risk is a possible American or Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear
sites, or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic
weapon. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have spiked over the
Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza and after U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen's
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens more.
"I'm for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon," Trump
said Friday. "I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific."
Before the Iran talks started, Witkoff met in Rome with Rafael Mariano
Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to a person
familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details
that were not made public.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency would likely be key in verifying compliance
by Iran should a deal be reached, as it did with the 2015 accord Iran reached
with world powers.
In a flurry of gatherings, Grossi also met with Italian Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani, who sat down with Araghchi before the U.S.-Iran talks.
A diplomatic deal "is built patiently, day after day, with dialogue and
mutual respect," Tajani said in a statement.
Araghchi, Witkoff traveled ahead of the talks
Witkoff had been in Paris for talks about Ukraine as Russia's full-scale war
there grinds on. He also met in the French capital with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, and Mossad chief
David Barnea.
Dermer was in Rome on Saturday and spotted at the same hotel where Witkoff
was staying. It was unclear if that was a coincidence, and there was no
indication Dermer was part of the Iran talks.
Araghchi in recent days paid a visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Russia, one of the world powers involved in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal,
could be a key participant in any future deal reached between Tehran and
Washington. Analysts suggest Moscow could potentially take custody of Iran's
uranium enriched to 60% purity -- a short, technical step away from
weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Oman's capital hosted the first round of negotiations last weekend, which
saw Araghchi and Witkoff meet face to face after indirect talks. Oman, a
sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has long served as an
interlocutor between Iran and the West.
Ahead of the talks, however, Iran seized on comments by Witkoff first
suggesting Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all
enrichment must stop.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on
X before the talks that Iran would not accept giving up its enrichment program
like Libya or agreeing to using uranium enriched abroad for its nuclear program.
"Iran has come for a balanced agreement, not a surrender," he wrote.
Iran seeks a deal to steady a troubled economy
Iran's internal politics are still inflamed over the mandatory hijab, or
headscarf, with women still ignoring the law on the streets of Tehran. Rumors
also persist over the government potentially increasing the cost of subsidized
gasoline in the country, which has sparked nationwide protests in the past
Iran's rial currency plunged to over 1 million to a U.S. dollar earlier this
month. The currency has improved with the talks, however, something Tehran
hopes will continue.
Meanwhile, two used Airbus A330-200 long sought by Iran's flag carrier, Iran
Air, arrived at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport on Thursday,
flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed. The planes,
formerly of China's Hainan Airlines, had been in Muscat and re-registered to
Iran.
The aircraft have Rolls-Royce engines, which include significant American
parts and servicing. Such a transaction would need approval from the U.S.
Treasury given sanctions on Iran. The State Department and Treasury did not
respond to requests for comment.
Under the 2015 deal, Iran could purchase new aircraft and had lined up tens
of billions of dollars in deals with Airbus and Boeing Co. However, the
manufacturers backed away from the deals over Trump's threats to the nuclear
accord.
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