Expert-level meet means ...
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Iran’s biggest red line in the nuclear negotiations has always been to preserve the right to have its enrichment program—something enshrined in the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency that allows member states to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, provided they adhere to safeguards under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran has time and again maintained that its nuclear work is entirely peaceful for purposes such as power generation and medicine.
Expert-level talks typically drill down into technical and specialized issues and the most technical matter under dispute in the talks between Iran and the US seems to be uranium enrichment by Tehran.
The very fact that both parties have agreed to hold technical discussions is a strong indication that the US may have come round to the idea of Iran retaining some level of enrichment under a possible agreement.
It now seems President Donald Trump, who once mocked the JCPOA and labeled it a “bad deal” before pulling out of it in 2018, might be warming to the idea of returning to a similar arrangement.
The fine details of any potential accord will emerge in time, but early signs suggest it would mirror the JCPOA, with minor tweaks that could go down well with both sides, particularly Trump, who may wish to sell it to the American public and the international community.
Should such a win-win deal be clinched, it would be a major achievement for Iran and its negotiating team, who are going into these talks with the backing of the Leader and as per his advisor with “full authority.”
Trump is still struggling to chalk up a meaningful foreign policy victory and has yet to deliver on key campaign promises such as ending the war between Russia and Ukraine or halting Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip in favor of a cease-fire acceptable to the Palestinians. Therefore, under such circumstances, striking a deal with Iran could count as a feather in his cap.