By Heraldviews
Iran said on Tuesday that it was prepared to engage in negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program this weekend but insisted that any discussions must rule out the threat of military action. The announcement came amid escalating tensions between the two adversaries, with President Trump warning that Iran would face "great danger" if the talks failed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi said the negotiations, set to take place in Oman on Saturday, would be
conducted indirectly—contradicting Mr. Trump’s claim on Monday that the two
sides would hold "direct talks." Mr. Araghchi also demanded that the
U.S. explicitly renounce the use of force, declaring that Iran "will never
accept coercion."
The diplomatic maneuvering
follows months of heightened friction. Last month, Mr. Trump sent a letter to
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, via the United Arab Emirates,
expressing a desire for a deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons
and to avert potential military strikes by the U.S. or Israel.
Mr. Trump, who withdrew the
U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord during his first term, hinted at the high
stakes during a meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. "I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable
to doing the obvious," Mr. Trump told reporters, adding that failure would
be "a very bad day for Iran."
Mr. Netanyahu, who has long opposed
diplomacy with Iran, later emphasized that both leaders agreed Iran must never
acquire nuclear weapons. "The military option will happen if talks drag
on," he said.
A Test of Intentions
In an opinion piece published
by The Washington Post, Mr. Araghchi framed the upcoming talks as
both an opportunity and a test. While expressing Iran’s willingness to
negotiate, he voiced skepticism about U.S. intentions, citing the Trump
administration’s "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions.
"To move forward today, we
first need to agree that there can be no 'military option,' let alone a
'military solution,'" he wrote.
Iran has repeatedly denied
seeking nuclear weapons, maintaining that its program is strictly peaceful. Yet
it has steadily breached limits set by the 2015 agreement, stockpiling enriched
uranium at levels close to weapons-grade purity in response to U.S. sanctions.
Diverging Demands
The two sides remain far apart
on key issues. U.S. officials, led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, are
expected to push for the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure,
a demand Tehran has flatly rejected.
National Security Adviser Mike
Waltz reinforced that stance, clarifying that the administration seeks
"full dismantlement." Mr. Netanyahu went further, advocating for a
"Libyan-style" agreement, referring to Libya’s 2003 decision to
abandon its weapons programs under Western supervision.
Iran swiftly dismissed the
comparison. A senior foreign ministry official told the BBC that dismantling
its nuclear program was "not negotiable."
A Fragile Diplomatic Path
The 2015 deal, negotiated under
the Obama administration, had imposed strict curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities
in exchange for sanctions relief. But Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement
in 2018 and subsequent sanctions pushed Iran to abandon many of its
commitments.
The International Atomic Energy
Agency warned in February that Iran had amassed enough 60%-enriched uranium, if
further refined, to produce multiple nuclear weapons.
As Saturday’s talks approach,
the question remains whether either side is willing to compromise, or if the
diplomatic window will close, leaving military confrontation as the only
option.
With Additional Agency report
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