Iran said Tuesday a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran’s longtime adversary shows sufficient goodwill in upcoming talks, as Israel warned of military action if talks drag on.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.
Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is an arch foe of Tehran.
Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect”.
“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media. “The format of the negotiations… is not the most important thing in my view. What really counts is the effectiveness or otherwise of the talks.
“If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingess, a deal can be found,” he said. “The ball is in America’s court.”
‘Military option inevitable’
Following his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday that “we agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons”.
“This can be done in an agreement, but only if… they go in, blow up (Iran’s) facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision”, he said, adding that if talks drag on, “then the military option becomes inevitable”.
Netanyahu was a bitter opponent of the 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States which Trump later abandoned.
In a column in The Washington Post on Tuesday, Araghchi wrote: “To move forward today, we first need to agree that there can be no ‘military option,’ let alone a ‘military solution’.”
“For its part, the United States can show that it is serious about diplomacy by showing that it will stick to any deal it makes. If we are shown respect, we will reciprocate it,” he continued.
Trump’s announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear activities, calling the idea pointless.
In Iran, some appeared wary but hopeful that the talks would yield results.
“Given the intense pressure on the population today, it seems that government officials have realized that the only solution is to negotiate directly with the United States,” said lawyer Fatemeh Rezai, 28.
“I hope these negotiations will lead to a (positive) outcome and that we will all get through this situation safe and sound.”
‘Great danger’
In tough messaging ahead of the meeting, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce insisted that Witkoff would deliver a message against Iran’s nuclear program and not look for a back and forth.
“On Saturday, there’s a meeting. There’s no negotiations,” she said.
Trump said Monday that Iran would be in “great danger” if the talks fail.
In an interview with US network NBC late last month, Trump went further, saying: “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing.”
China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks.
Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord, which would replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018.
“Of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow “absolutely” supported the initiative.
China called on the United States to “stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure” after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal.
As the country that withdrew from the nuclear deal, “the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)… mutual respect,” its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
That deal saw Iran receive relief from international sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities overseen by the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Trump’s withdrawal from the deal was followed by an Iranian decision one year later to stop complying with its own obligations under the deal.
The result has been that Iran has built up large stocks of highly enriched uranium that leave it a short step from weapons grade.
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