A day before a second round of nuclear talks with Washington is scheduled, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has cast doubt on the intentions of the United States.
The two nations will hold their highest-level discussions a week after US President Donald Trump unilaterally abdicated a landmark nuclear deal in 2015. Iran has since broken all restrictions on its nuclear program and has since increased its uranium to close to 90 percent, or close to the level required for weapons.
At a press conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Friday, Araghchi said, “We will participate in tomorrow’s negotiations, in any case, we have serious doubts about the intentions and motivations of the American side.”
On Saturday, Araghchi will travel to Rome to meet with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for a new round of Omani-mediated discussions.
According to Araghchi, “We are fully committed to working toward a peaceful resolution for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.”
Lavrov stated that Moscow was willing to “play any role that will benefit Iran from the standpoint of the United States and be acceptable.”
Since Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, it has strengthened its military ties with Iran, which also holds the most nuclear weapons in the world. It also has participated in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a member of the United Nations Security Council.
Iran has long been accused of attempting to acquire nuclear weapons by Western nations, including the US, insisting that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes. Tehran has consistently refuted this claim.
Despite Araghchi’s assertions, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, a reporter from Tehran, reported that there is “a cloud of mistrust in the air.”
According to Asadi, “with the discussions coming, there is a perception among Iranians that there is this mistrust that exists pertaining to the United States,” but returning to the statement that was made today, “we saw a mix of doubt and hope at the same time,” he said.
Iran claims that it is not interested in discussing other issues, such as nuclear capabilities, in the negotiations.
Unrealistic demands
If Iran doesn’t agree to a deal with the US, US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack it.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on Tuesday that discussions regarding the country’s military capabilities were prohibited.
Iran’s regional influence and its missile capabilities, which have long been criticized by Western governments, were among its “red lines” in the discussions, according to the official IRNA news agency.
After Witkoff demanded that it be ended, the Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday that Iran’s uranium enrichment was no longer up for discussion.
At Friday’s news conference, Araghchi stated, “I believe reaching an agreement is likely if there is a similar willingness on the other side, and they refrain from making unreasonable and unrealistic demands.”
Lavrov argued that any potential agreement should only be concerned with the nuclear issue.
“Those who try to burden the negotiations with non-nuclear issues and end up with a very risky situation must take this into account,” he said.
An Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency on Friday that Iran needed watertight guarantees Trump wouldn’t once again renounce the pact after it agreed to some restrictions on its uranium enrichment during last week’s talks with the US.
Tehran’s “mandated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” the official said, was in the talks not to be compromised. According to the official, these red lines would mean Iran would never agree to stop enriching uranium, stop completely, or lower the amount it stores to a level below the 2015 deal.
Additionally, it would not engage in negotiations regarding its missile program, which Tehran views as being outside the purview of any nuclear deal, according to Reuters.
The US administration is seeking a peaceful solution with Iran, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but it will never allow the nation to develop nuclear weapons.
In Paris, Rubio met with British, French, and German officials and demanded that they carry on the sanctions against Iran.
Israel also reiterated its unwavering commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, stating that it had a “clear course of action” in place to do so.
Source: Aljazeera
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