15 Feb (Reuters) – Iran is seeking a nuclear deal with the USA that would bring economic benefits to both sides, according to statements by an Iranian diplomat this Sunday, just days before the second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
Iran and the US resumed talks earlier this month to resolve the decades-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program and avoid a new military confrontation. The US has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a prolonged military campaign if negotiations are unsuccessful, US officials told Reuters.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to journalists in Bratislava, said that US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he prefers diplomacy and a negotiated settlement, but also that this may not happen.
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“Nobody has ever been able to make a successful deal with Iran, but we’re going to try,” Rubio said.
Iran has threatened to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East if attacked by U.S. forces, but on Sunday adopted a conciliatory line.
“To ensure the durability of an agreement, it is essential that the US also benefits in areas with high and rapid economic returns,” said the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director of economic diplomacy, Hamid Ghanbari, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
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“Common interests in oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations,” Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers did not guarantee U.S. economic interests.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the pact that had eased sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program and reimposed severe economic sanctions on Tehran.
On Friday, a source told Reuters that a US delegation, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday, a meeting later confirmed to Reuters by a senior Iranian official on Sunday.
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling, I think they’re traveling now, to have important meetings and we’ll see how that plays out,” Rubio said, without providing further details.
While the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear pact were multilateral, current talks are restricted to Iran and the United States, with Oman acting as mediator.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Tehran for Geneva to participate in indirect nuclear negotiations with the US and meet with the head of the UN nuclear agency, the IAEA, among others, his ministry said.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled Iran’s willingness to make concessions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, telling the BBC on Sunday that the ball was “in the United States’ court to prove that they want to make a deal.”
The senior official referred to the Iranian atomic chief’s statement on Monday that the country could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions as an example of Iran’s flexibility.
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However, he reiterated that Tehran will not accept zero enrichment of uranium, a key point in previous negotiations, with Washington considering enrichment within Iran as a potential path to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking such weapons.
In June, the US joined Israel in a series of airstrikes that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
The U.S. is also increasing economic pressure on Iran. In a White House meeting earlier this week, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that the U.S. would work to reduce Iran’s oil exports to China, Axios reported Saturday.
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China is responsible for more than 80% of Iran’s oil exports, so any reduction in this trade would significantly reduce Iran’s oil revenue.
