The United States and Iran will resume high -risk conversations on Saturday, April 19 in Tehran’s nuclear program, a week after an initial round of discussions that both were “constructive.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Rome, the images were transmitted early on Iranian state television, where he was ready to join the conversations mediated by Oman with the envoy of the Middle East of the United States Steve Witkoff. Iranian state television reported that conversations in the Italian capital would begin at 9:30 am, Paris time. The meeting comes a week after the two parties did what Iran called indirect conversations in Muscat. Those were the first discussions at such a high level among enemies since the president of the United States, Donald Trump, left an emblematic nuclear agreement in 2018.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran or that seek to acquire nuclear weapons, an accusation that Tehran has constantly denied, insisting that their program is for peaceful civil purposes. Tehran and Washington have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after the Islamic revolution of Iran of 1979.
After his return to office in January, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Iran. In March, it was a letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatolá Ali Khamenei urging the renewed nuclear conversations while warning or military action if diplomacy failed. “I’m in a hurry” to use the military option, Trump said Thursday. “I think Iran moves to speak.”
On Friday, Araghchi said Iran “observed a certain degree of serious” on the side of the United States during the first round, but questioned its intentions. “Although we have serious doubts about the intentions and motivations of the US side, in any case we will participate in the morning [Saturday’s] Negotiations, “he said at a press conference in Moscow.
In a publication in the social networks early on Saturday, the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, said that Tehran was “aware that it is not a path without problems that we take all the step with our eyes open, also trusting in the past experiences.”
‘Crucial stage’
In I monde Published interview On Wednesday, the United Nations Nuclear Surveillance Chief Rafael Grossi said they “was not far away” from having a nuclear bomb.
Duration Trump’s first mandate, Washington, withdrew from the 2015 agreement between Tehran and the world powers that offered Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs in its nuclear program. Tehran fulfilled the agreement for a year after Trump’s withdrawal before reducing compliance. Araghchi was a negotiator of the 2015 agreement. His American counterpart in Rome, Witkoff, is a real estate tycoon to whom Trump has also responsible for conversations about Ukraine.
Currently, Iran enriches the uranium up to 60%, well above the limit of 3.67 in the agreement, but still below the 90% threshold required for the gun material. On Friday, the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, urged European countries to decide whether to activate the “Snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically restore UN sanctions against Iran on their breach. The option to trigger the mechanism expires in October this year.
Iran previously warned that it could withdraw from the Nuclear Non -Proliferation Treaty if the mechanism was activated. Grossi, who had conversations with Iranian officials, a visit to Tehran this week, said that the United States and Iran were “in a very crucial stage” in the conversations and “have no time” to ensure an agreement.
‘Non-negotiable’
Iranian officials have insisted that conversations only focus on their nuclear program and the removal of sanctions. Araghchi said an agreement with the United States was “likely” if Washington refrained from “making unreasonable and non -reista demands” without elaborating. Araghchi said that Iran’s right to enrich uranium was “non -negative”, after Witkoff asked for his complete high. Witkoff had previously demanded that they will return to the ceiling established by the 2015 agreement. Analysts had said that the United States would press to include discussions on the Iran Balistic missile program, as well as Tehran’s support for militants in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, the body of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran said that the country’s military capacities were out of the limits in discussions. Iran’s regional influence and his missile abilities were among his “red lines” in the conversations, the official Irna news agency reported.
On Friday, the ally of the United States Israel affirmed its commitment to prevent them from obstructing nuclear weapons, saying that it had a “clear course of action” to avoid this. Khamenei said Tuesday that Iranians should not set hope of progress in negotiations, that “they may or may not produce results.”
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