Iran ready for concessions if US meets demands
Iran and the United States will hold a third round of nuclear talks in Geneva, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said, amid growing concerns about the risk of military conflict between the long-time foes.
The United States has strengthened its military presence in the Middle East after the United States warned on Thursday that “really bad things will happen” if a deal is not reached to resolve the long-running dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“I am pleased to confirm that US-Iran talks were held in Geneva this Thursday and there is a positive pressure to take an extra step towards the conclusion of the agreement,” said Oman’s foreign minister, who has been mediating indirect talks between Washington and Tehran.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Iran had offered new concessions on its nuclear program to reach the deal, provided it included the lifting of economic sanctions and recognized Tehran’s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment”.
In a post published on the
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading nuclear negotiations on the US side, said on Saturday that the US president wondered why Iran had not yet “surrendered” and agreed to restrict its nuclear programme.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he knows he had a lot of alternatives, but he wonders why they didn’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘surrender,’ but why didn’t they surrender,” Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News.
“Why, under that pressure, with so many naval and maritime powers there, why didn’t they come to us and say, ‘We claim we don’t want weapons, here’s what we’re prepared to do?’ But it’s still kind of hard to get them to that place.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reacted to his post on the X channel with the following words: “Are you wondering why we did not surrender? Because we are Iranians.”
He also said in an interview with CBS that a diplomatic solution with the United States was still within reach.
Indirect talks last year failed to reach any agreement, primarily due to infighting over a U.S. demand that Iran abandon uranium enrichment on its territory, which Washington sees as a path to a nuclear bomb. Iran has denied seeking such weapons.
The United States joined Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear sites in June, effectively restricting Iran’s uranium enrichment; Trump said Iran’s major nuclear sites were “destroyed.”
But Iran is still believed to have previously enriched stockpiles, and Washington wants it to give it up.
“They’re getting richer, way beyond what you need for civil nuclear. That’s up to 60 percent (fissile purity),” Witkoff said.
“We’re probably a week away from having industrial, industrial-grade bomb-making material, and that’s really dangerous.”
New concessions Iran is considering include sending half of its highly enriched uranium abroad and diluting the rest.
Washington has also sought to expand negotiations beyond the nuclear issue to include Iran’s missile program and its support for regional armed groups.
Iran has publicly denied this, but sources told Reuters that, unlike missiles, support for armed groups may not be a red line for Tehran.
Another issue of friction is the scope and mechanism of lifting sanctions against Iran. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Iran and the United States still have different views.
Witkoff also said that, upon Trump’s instructions, he met with Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah who was overthrown in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. He did not provide further details about the meeting.
Pahlavi, who lives in exile, served as a rallying figure for some of Iran’s opposition during last month’s anti-government demonstrations, the worst civil unrest since the revolutionary era, in which thousands of people are believed to have been killed.
In early February, Pahlavi said US military intervention in Iran could save lives and urged Washington not to spend too much time negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers over the nuclear deal.
