The Wall Street Journal reported on April 4 that the U.S. is pressing to hold direct nuclear talks with Iran, U.S. officials say. If Iran agrees to engage, the talks would be the first sustained direct negotiations between the two countries since President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018. However, the Trump administration is reportedly seeking an ambitious goal of dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program, something that Tehran will never agree to.
Speaking late April 3, Trump told reporters that it would be better to have direct talks. “I think it goes faster, and you understand the other side a lot better, than if you go through intermediaries,” he said. “I know for a fact that I think they would like to have direct talks.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a meeting of ambassadors in Tehran on April 6 that Iran will agree to negotiations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of sanctions. Araghchi denounced the U.S. for its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, despite the fact that Iran had made a series of voluntary arrangements to give assurances about the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, reported Tasnim. “Having had that experience, we are now prepared for negotiations on our nuclear program and the removal of sanctions on the basis of logic of trust-building in exchange for the lifting of the cruel sanctions against Iran,” the minister stated.
However, Araghchi condemned the U.S.’ contradictory policy of calling for direct negotiations while also threatening to resort to force, which he said violates the UN Charter. While Iran is committed to diplomacy to clear up misunderstandings and settle the differences, it remains prepared for all possible scenarios and will resolutely protect its national interests and sovereignty, Araghchi underlined.
