Latest news with #IranUSrelations
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Iran says no chance of nuclear deal with US without clarity on sanctions relief
Iran says it will not strike a nuclear deal with the US until it has clarity on sanctions relief even as Washington pushes for a speedy agreement. Iran and the US have held five rounds of talks since April, primarily mediated by Oman, to work out a new agreement, with Washington focussed on preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran says it's willing to negotiate but insists on a deal that guarantees lasting sanctions relief and respects its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, a key sticking point. "I regret to inform you that the American side has not yet been willing to clarify this issue," a foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said during a weekly press conference in Tehran. "It must be clear to us how the oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people will be lifted to ensure that past experiences are not repeated. No agreement will happen unless we have clear and reliable assurances about the end of sanctions. So far, we haven't seen what we need to from the other side – only repeated waves of sanctions before each round of negotiations.' Omani foreign minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who is mediating the talks, presented elements of an American proposal for a nuclear deal during a short visit to Tehran on Saturday. US president Donald Trump, who ripped up the previous nuclear deal during his first presidency, recently said he envisioned an agreement with Iran that would let America 'blow up' any infrastructure, such as nuclear sites and labs, deemed a threat. He said such a deal could be finalised in the 'next couple of weeks' and claimed talks had made 'a lot of progress'. An advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said ' accessing Iran's nuclear sites and 'blowing up infrastructure' is a fantasy past US presidents shared'. 'Iran is independent, with strong defenses, resilient people, and clear red lines,' Ali Shamkhani added. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He now wants to replace or modify it with a "stronger" deal, threatening military action if diplomacy fails.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
US sends Iran proposal for nuclear deal
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his Omani counterpart presented elements of a US proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington during a short visit to Tehran on Saturday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said later on Saturday that US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff 'has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it's in their best interest to accept it'. Araqchi said in a post on social media that Iran 'will respond to the US proposal in line with the principles, national interests and rights of people of Iran'. His statement came ahead of an anticipated sixth round of talks between Washington and Tehran to resolve a decades-long dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. The date and venue of the talks have not been announced yet. 'President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,'' Leavitt said in a statement, confirming that the US proposal had been communicated to Iran. She declined to provide further details. Newspapers featuring a picture of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi during the Iran and US indirect talks in Rome are seen at a kiosk in Tehran, Iran, on May 24. Photo: EPA-EFE Trump said on Friday that an Iran deal was possible in the 'not-too-distant future.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US-Iran nuclear deal could be reached as soon as next round of talks, sources tell CNN
The fifth round of talks between the US and Iran concluded last Friday in Rome, with Iranian and Omani officials issuing positive statements. An Iranian nuclear deal could be reached during the next round of talks between the United States and Iran, sources told CNN on Wednesday. The report said that mediators are "closing in on a broad agreement" that could be achieved next time the countries meet, likely in a Middle Eastern country. US President Donald Trump also told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "not to disrupt talks," the report noted. On Wednesday, the New York Times alleged that Netanyahu threatened to strike nuclear facilities as the US expressed concern that these strikes would disrupt nuclear talks, preferring to exhaust diplomatic avenues. The Prime Minister's Office responded to the report, saying that it was "fake news." The fifth round of talks between the US and Iran concluded last Friday in Rome, with Iranian and Omani officials issuing positive statements about the future of talks. During these negotiations, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held more than two hours of talks with the Iranian delegation and agreed to meet in the near future. However, the Omani Foreign Minister said in a statement that the fifth round wrapped "with some but not conclusive progress," and that "we hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement." Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Pezeshkian Visits Oman amid its Mediation in the US-Iran Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Oman on Tuesday on a two-day visit. Oman has been mediating the indirect talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. Iranian and US delegations wrapped up a fifth round of talks in Rome last week amid signs of some limited progress. Sultan Haitham bin Tarik welcomed Pezeshkian at the al-Alam palace in Muscat where they reviewed 'the deep-rooted historical relations between the two friendly countries, exchanged views on current developments in the region, as well as efforts to consolidate the Omani-Iranian partnership, notably in the fields of industry, commerce, and education.' They also sought ways to boost cooperation in the fields of logistics and health in a manner that serves the interests of their people, reported Oman's state news agency ONA. Pezeshkian highlighted Oman's 'effective and constructive' role in the indirect talks with the US, said an Iranian presidency statement. 'We hope the negotiations lead to good results,' he said. 'Oman holds a strategic standing in Iran's foreign policy,' he went on to say. Iran 'fully trusts Oman and this trust increases the responsibility on the two sides to bolster relations and pursue deeper and stronger understandings.' Prior to departing to Muscat, the Iranian president had said that the trip aims to bolster relations in various fields. 'It is in line with the general policies outlined by the supreme leader (Ali Khamenei) to establish the best relations with neighboring countries,' Pezeshkian stated. 'We will cooperate with Oman in all possible fields. We will also discuss regional files, starting with the Palestinian cause and situation in Gaza,' he added according to ISNA. Muscat has hosted three of the five rounds of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. Oman's embassy in Rome hosted the other two. On economic ties, Pezeshkian noted that the trade exchange between Iran and Oman stood at around 2.3 billion dollars. He added that he will discuss during his trip issues related to land and air transport, trade and industry, education and technology, communications, and investment. Sultan Haitham and Pezeshkian later oversaw the signing of five cooperation agreements, ten memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and three executive programs. They covered legal and judicial affairs, and the fields of investment, customs, communications and information technology, housing, urban planning, construction, and others.
The National
7 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Abbas Araghchi: Firefighter diplomat navigating Iran's political grey zone
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, seemingly never goes anywhere alone. In the wood-panelled corridors and rooms of a Foreign Ministry think tank in Tehran, he is permanently surrounded by aides, in a never-ending cycle of handshakes with foreign officials. A dapper figure in a well-cut suit with salt-and-pepper hair, Mr Araghchi is now leading Iran's delegation in talks with the US. If – and it still is an if – the two sides reach an agreement, Washington could lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations on its nuclear programme. But this is not his first time in the negotiating seat: he was an architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, which US President Donald Trump abandoned in his first term. Mr Araghchi does not have an easy job. Talks have stumbled over the US's demand for zero uranium enrichment under any potential agreement, while Iran believes that it must retain the right to do so, with possible limitations. Iran is also trying to negotiate with European countries to prevent the re-imposition of UN sanctions that could take place in October, amid what Tehran sees as more extreme positions in the West influenced by Iran hawks. Trump administration officials, including Washington's senior nuclear negotiator, Steve Witkoff, have relatively little experience with such files. 'He [Araghchi] is a firefighter, actually, now,' Sasan Karimi, a former deputy vice-president for strategic affairs in the Iranian government, and a director at Nuclear Watch Network, a Tehran-based think tank, told The National. Born into a wealthy carpet trading family in Tehran in 1962, Mr Araghchi served as a volunteer fighter in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. It was a conflict that is rarely discussed in the West but one that shaped the lives of millions of Iraqis and Iranians, including Mr Araghchi. "In the war, he had experience with being in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], and also got to know the behaviour and morals of a military environment,' a Tehran-based political researcher told The National. 'Then he also got to know a diplomatic environment.' A decade later, he studied at Kent University in the UK, where he obtained a doctoral degree in Islamic political thought. He then rose through the ranks of Iran's Foreign Ministry, and served as ambassador to Japan and Finland before becoming deputy foreign minister. After hardliner Ebrahim Raisi was elected as president and Hossein Amirabdollahian became foreign minister, Mr Araghchi joined the Strategic Council for Foreign Relations, a body that advises supreme leader Ali Khamenei. When Mr Raisi and Mr Amirabdollahian were killed in a helicopter crash last year, and Masoud Pezeshkian became president, Mr Araghchi returned as foreign minister. Both to those familiar with his thinking, and publicly, Mr Araghchi is attempting to balance powers – both within Iran and globally. 'Our foreign policy is anchored in balance, realism and constructive pragmatism,' Mr Araghchi said in a speech at the Tehran Dialogue Forum, a recent conference hosted by the Foreign Ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies. With Mr Pezeshkian's professional history dominated by domestic affairs, Mr Araghchi has room to work directly with Mr Khamenei on shaping Iran's foreign policy. A competent English speaker and familiar with the entire previous nuclear deal, he is well-placed to represent the country internationally, observers say. He is seeking to improve relations with both global powers and Middle Eastern neighbours, they add. 'In my opinion, Dr Araghchi's view is one of balancing the axes,' a Tehran-based researcher said, asking not to be named. While the US has presented the ongoing nuclear talks as an opportunity for Iran, observers in Tehran say that the current political make-up of Iran's government, including a seasoned Foreign Minister with negotiating experience, is a chance that the West should embrace, too. 'I think this is a golden window that this happens before this government [in Iran] comes to an end,' the researcher added. Within Iran, Iranian observers say Mr Araghchi's professional and personal background has enabled him to weigh the demands of the country's multitude of political factions. 'From a political point of view, Araghchi is not a reformist,' Mr Karimi said, referring to a broad faction of Iran's official politics which campaigns for a more open political system. Mr Araghchi's first wife was from a family involved in a prominent Islamist party, Motalefeh. But his time negotiating the first nuclear deal shaped his politics, too, Mr Karimi believes. 'My feeling is that during JCPOA negotiations, he became more and more moderate and less conservative,' he said. Still, his exposure to many different political currents has enabled him to appeal to a relatively broad base. His incremental, deliberate style has also helped him, observers say, to appeal to what Mr Karimi calls the 'grey zone' of those who sit between more liberal factions and radical hardliners in Iran's political spectrum. 'People are optimistic about him,' he said. 'Because he could manage the negotiations with less noise, and gather all the forces to support him, and make the radical noises quieter.'
