Iran's foreign minister said yesterday that nuclear talks with the United States, brokered by Oman, had started "well" and would continue, easing fears that a failure to reach an agreement could push the Middle East closer to war, Reuters reported.
However, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after talks in the Omani capital, Muscat, that "any dialogue requires refraining from threats and pressure. Tehran is discussing exclusively its nuclear issue... We are not discussing any other topic with the US."
While both sides have signaled a willingness to renew diplomacy over Iran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington wanted the talks to extend to Iran's ballistic missiles, support for armed groups across the region and "its treatment of its own population," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected the possibility of discussing Iran's missiles, one of the largest arsenals of their kind in the Middle East, at all, stressing that Tehran wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
For Washington, uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, which could be a path to a nuclear bomb, is a red line. Tehran has long denied any intention to turn nuclear fuel production into weapons.
“This was a good start to the negotiations. There is an understanding that the talks will continue. Coordination on how to proceed will be decided in the capitals,” Aragchi told Iranian state television. “If this process continues, I think we will reach a good framework for an agreement.”
The mediator in the talks, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, said the talks were "very serious" and that the results would be carefully considered in Tehran and Washington. The goal, he said, is to resume the talks in due course.
The clerical leadership of the Islamic Republic remains deeply concerned that Trump could still carry out his threats to attack Iran, following the strengthening of the American naval presence in the region's seas.
“The lack of trust poses a huge challenge during the negotiations and must be overcome,” Aragchi said.
Last June, the United States attacked Iranian nuclear targets, joining in the final phase of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Tehran has since announced that it has suspended its uranium enrichment activities.
The naval buildup, which Trump called a massive "armada," followed the authorities' bloody crackdown on mass protests across Iran last month, further straining relations between Washington and Tehran.
Trump warned that "bad things" were likely to happen if a deal was not reached, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic in a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes.
World powers and regional states fear that the collapse of the talks could ignite a new conflict between the US and Iran, which could spill over into the rest of the oil-rich region.
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