Days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington, Iran threatened to attack US bases in the Middle East if it was attacked by US forces, but took a conciliatory stance on Sunday.
“For the sake of the durability of the agreement, it is essential that the US also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns,” Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
“Joint interests in oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations,” Ghanbari said, according to Reuters.
He argued that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers did not secure US economic interests.
Meeting in Geneva
On Friday, a source told Reuters that a US delegation including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would meet with Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday, a meeting a senior Iranian official confirmed to Reuters later on Sunday.
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling, I think they’re traveling right now to have important meetings, and we’ll see how that plays out,” Rubio said, without giving further details.
While the talks leading to the 2015 nuclear pact were multilateral, the current negotiations are limited to Iran and the United States, with Oman acting as a mediator.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Tehran for Geneva to attend indirect nuclear talks with the US and meet with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA and others, his ministry said.
Open to compromise
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has signaled Iran’s willingness to make concessions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, telling the BBC on Sunday the ball was “in America’s court to prove they want to do a deal”.
The senior official cited Iran’s nuclear chief’s announcement on Monday that the country could agree to dilute its most enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions as an example of Iran’s flexibility.
But he reiterated that Tehran would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a sticking point in past negotiations, with Washington seeing enrichment in Iran as a potential path to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking such weapons.
In June, the US joined Israel in a series of airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US 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 Iranian oil exports to China, Axios reported Saturday.
China accounts for more than 80% of Iran’s oil exports, so any reduction in that trade would significantly reduce Iran’s oil revenues.
nuclear deal between Iran and the US
Iran is seeking a nuclear deal with the US that brings economic benefits to both sides, an Iranian diplomat said on Sunday.
The US has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks fail, US officials told Reuters.
In 2018, Trump pulled the US out of a pact that eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program and reimposed tough economic sanctions on Tehran.