Deputy FM: Iran serious in nuclear talks with US, rejects delay
IAEA chief optimistic about ongoing negotiations
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday that Iran is serious in the nuclear talks with the US, stressing that the Islamic Republic does not want any delay in the negotiations.
Gharibabadi, who briefed the Parliament’s National Security Committee on the two rounds of negotiations between Iran and the US, said that Iran wants the removal of sanctions in the ongoing negotiations.
He said that Tehran will not negotiate on the principle of its right to enrich uranium because Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and enriches uranium for peaceful purposes.
Meanwhile, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi expressed optimism on talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program, saying that the second round of the talks in Rome “really could have collapsed” due to the high level of risks looming over the hotly-debated issue.
Both sides were “prepared to discuss concrete aspects with each other,” Grossi told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
Grossi said he was satisfied with progress to date. “The talks really could have collapsed in this second round. Then everything would have come to a halt,” he said.
“The risk was there. Instead, the spirit of Rome showed it is possible to make progress,” the IAEA head said without providing details.
Iran and the US concluded the second round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday, which are being mediated by Oman.
After the negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who leads Iran’s delegation, said that both sides reached better understanding of a series of principles and goals during the second round of negotiations.
Araghchi said that the talks were held in a “constructive atmosphere” and are “moving forward.”
Iran’s top diplomat added that technical negotiations at the expert level will be held in Oman on Wednesday.
The two sides will review the result of the Wednesday’s negotiations in separate talks which is scheduled to be held in Oman on Saturday to “see how close we are to the principles of an agreement”.
A senior US official also said Tehran and Washington made “very good progress” in the second round of talks.
Oman’s Foreign Ministry in a statement after the talks said that Araghchi and US special envoy in the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, agreed to enter into the next phase of the discussions that would aim to “seal a fair, enduring and binding deal” which would ensure “Iran completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy.”
President Donald Trump has been pushing for a rapid deal with Iran while threatening military action against it.
Araghchi and Witkoff led the first round of the negotiations in Oman, which were described by the two sides as “positive and constructive.”
The negotiations are aimed at reaching a diplomatic agreement surrounding the Iranian nuclear program and to put an end to decades of disputes over the issue.
Western countries including the US have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons – an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.